UPDATES AT EPG – Physicals, insurance and more
Spring is, hopefully, just around the corner! This is the time when you should start thinking about scheduling your child’s physical. We are currently booking appointments through the end of June.
Students who participate in sports need to be very conscious about the requirements for their annual physical. Physicals are good for one calendar year, so if your child had a physical in October of 2011 that physical is good until October of 2012, and sport eligibility will not expire until October of 2012.
Most insurances will cover one physical per calendar year. However, there are some insurances that will cover one physical per 366 days. You should check with your insurance to find out their policy for physicals.
Every well child check is the evaluation of your child’s health, development and immunization status. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends the HPV vaccine for boys age 11 – 26 years old. It consists of a series of 3 shots, the first shot followed by the second 2 months later and the third 6 months from the first. This same vaccine has been used for more than 5 years in girls to prevent the spread of the Human Papilloma Virus, a virus which can lead to cervical and penile cancer later in life. The doctors and nurse practitioners at Elmwood Pediatrics recommend this vaccine for all children starting at age 11 years, as does the CDC. The Menactravaccine, against meningitis, now has a recommended booster for all those 16 year olds and above.
TO OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
As you make plans for the next year, please be aware that most colleges require a physical examination. We recommend that you schedule yours between March and June if you have not had a physical this year. A record of your immunizations and a summary of your physical will be provided to you immediately following your visit.
When you decide on a college, there may be additional forms to be completed. Please fill out the student and parent sections before sending them to us since we need to review your answers to complete the form.
Graduating from high school does NOT mean that you have to graduate from Elmwood. All of the doctors and nurse practitioners at Elmwood are trained to care for those aged from infant to young adults. Since we are open 7 days a week and every holiday, it may be easier to visit us for care when you are home on break as compared to an adult doctor. Occasionally an “adult” medical illness in a young person would be better handled by an adult doctor. If that is the case, we will discuss that with you. For the vast majority of our patients, Elmwood is able to care for your health needs even as a young adult. It is our privilege to provide care during this time of transition.
GETTING READY FOR KINDERGARTEN
To our parents of 4 or 5 year old children who will be entering kindergarten in September 2012 – now is the time to book your child’s well visit appointment if they haven’t had a physical this year. Your child will receive 4 booster shots: Dtap (Tetanus & whooping cough), IPV (polio), MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) and Varivax (chicken pox). These boosters are required by NYS for your child to enter kindergarten, particularly the MMR booster.
At this visit you will receive a printed copy of the universal school physical form with a record of all the immunizations. For your convenience, Elmwood will also electronically fax a copy of this directly to your child’s school nurse. You will receive an “over the counter” medication administration form which allows your child to take over the counter medications at school with our approval. You will need to sign that form and give it to the school nurse if you want to do so.
INSURANCE CHANGES
At the start of each year we all face insurance challenges.
· If you have MVP insurance your subscriber ID# should start with an 8. If the card you have has an ID # on it that starts with something other than an 8 you need to call member services at MVP and find out why.
· If your insurance requires you to pay a co-pay, this is the dollar amount or portion set by your insurance company that you pay at the time of service. You can find your co-pay amount and rules in your plan documents or you can contact member services of your insurance company. We require the co-payment at the time of the visit.
· If your insurance is a high deductible insurance plan, there is a set dollar amount that you must pay for medical services before your insurance will start to pay. Your plan may require you to pay your provider directly for the service itself, if you have not met your deductible. You can find your deductible amount and rules in your plan documents or you can contact member services of your insurance company. We require a $75.00 down payment at each appointment, other than physicals. This $75.00 will be applied to the visit. You may be billed for the remaining balance. The $75.00 charge will be applied towards your deductible amount.
• If you have any questions in regards to your bill, insurance changes or general questions about insurance, please call Marie K, our patient billing liaison, at (585)-244-9841.
REFILLING YOUR PRESCRIPTION
When your child needs a medication refill for chronic medications – please have your pharmacist send us an electronic refill request. This request goes directly into your doctor’s computer. The doctor can then approve the request by the pharmacy electronically. This process only applies to non-controlled substance prescriptions (ADD medications still require a phone call to our office).
All the providers and staff thank you for allowing us to care for your families.
