Office Policies

Immunization Policy

Immunizations are one of the most important ways parents can protect their children against serious infectious diseases. Infants and young children are particularly vulnerable to these diseases. While there are small risks associated with every immunization, children are far more likely to be harmed by the disease than by the immunization.

Front Porch Pediatrics strongly believes in immunizations. We never want our patient families to experience a child dying or becoming permanently disabled from a vaccine preventable disease.We strongly recommend following the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control.In support of this belief, and to protect our particularly vulnerable newborn patients, we have come to a decision that parents who disagree with these guidelines need to find care elsewhere.

For further information, you can go to the following websites:

www.cdc.gov (Center for Disease Control)
www.aap.org (American Academy of Pediatrics)
www.fda.gov (Food and Drug Administration)

Fees & Payments

A goal of Front Porch Pediatrics is to provide high quality medical care to our patients. The following information is provided to avoid any misunderstanding or disagreement concerning payment for professional services.

If we do not participate with your insurance carrier, payment in full is expected at the time of your visit. You will receive a detailed bill to submit to your insurance company. Copays are due at each visit. Please remember that insurance is considered a method of reimbursing the patient for fees paid to the doctor and is not a substitute for payment. It is the parents’ responsibility to be knowledgeable about their insurance coverage and limitations.

The following services are not charged to your insurance company and are your responsibility:

Co-payments – Co-payments are due at the time services are rendered. If you are unable to make your co-payment at this time, please reschedule your appointment for another time. Please note: if you are being seen for a well-child exam or annual physical and an acute problem is found and addressed during this visit, you may be charged a co-payment for the treatment of your acute problem by your insurance.

Missed Fee – A missed fee is charged if a physical exam appointment is missed and not canceled within 24 hours. Your account will be charged $20 per child, per occurrence.

Form Fee – You are entitled to one school/camp/daycare form per child per year. Additional forms will require a $5 fee payable when the form is given to us. We will complete forms at check ups. Additionally, forms can be mailed in or dropped off. Our office requires 2-3 business days to complete forms, whether they are mailed in or dropped off.

Medical Record Copy Fee -- A copy of your medical record will be available within 10 days of written request for a $20 fee.

Returned checks will be charged a $25 fee.

Our practice firmly believes that a good doctor/patient relationship is based upon understanding and open communication. Our staff has been instructed to make every effort to clarify any concerns you may have about your account. We realize families experience financial difficulties at times. Parents may make special arrangements with the Billing administrator for times of partial payments of larger medical bills. If you have any questions concerning our policy or need assistance, please contact us. We are here to help you.

Payment for service is due at the time services are rendered unless payment arrangements have been approved in advance by our Office Coordinator.We accept cash, MasterCard or Visa.

If you have medical insurance, you must realize that:

1. Your insurance is a contract between you, your employer and the insurance company. We are not a party to the contract.
2. Not all services are a covered benefit in all contracts. Some insurance companies arbitrarily select certain services they will not cover. You are responsible for knowing what is and is not covered under your insurance plan.
3. It is your responsibility to pay for deductibles, co-insurance, copays, lapse in coverage, and any other balance not paid by your insurance company.
4. We do submit to secondary insurance.
5. We would like to remind everyone whose insurance plan requires selection of a Primary Care Physician (PCP) to please select your physician. If one of the physicians of Front Porch Pediatrics is not chosen as your PCP, your insurance plan may deny claims or process claims as out of network, making you financially responsible.
6. You need to supply your insurance carrier with any information they request. Claims are held from processing while your insurance carrier waits to hear from you.
7. You must add your newborn to your insurance policy within the 30-day period required by most insurance carriers. If the child is not added within that timeframe, you may have to wait for open enrollment, thereby leaving your child uninsured until that time.

Prescriptions, Lab results, and Radiological Reports

All prescription refills, request for lab results, and radiological reports should be requested during business hours. 

No prescriptions for narcotic medications nor antibiotics will be prescribed over the phone by our medical practice, because all patients who are sick enough to require these medications are ill enough to need a personal evaluation by a medical practitioner to make sure the correct treatment is prescribed.