Policies

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics.

We educate families on appropriate use of antibiotics, but follow evidence-based guidelines and don’t automatically treat ear pain or a green snotty nose with antibiotics.

We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone as we do not believe that is good medicine. We will prescribe an antibiotic when we believe it is an appropriate treatment.

Everyone's Time is Equally Valuable.

We ask that you arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. We understand sometimes things happen beyond your control that may cause you to be late. However, we reserve the right to ask you to reschedule if you arrive late for your appointment.

Our practice makes every effort to run on time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable.

Upcoming Appointments Via Phone/Text Message/Email

Missed Appointments: Broken appointments represent a cost to us, to you, and to other patients who could have been seen in the time set aside for you. We reserve the right to charge a fee for canceled or missed appointments. We request 24 hours notice for cancellation of appointments.

A fee may be charged for a second missed appointment. The third consecutive missed appointment will result in discharge from the practice.

For new patients, a fee may be charged if the FIRST appointment is missed.

As a courtesy to our patients, we will accept “assignment of benefits” from insurance carriers and will bill your insurance carrier for you. To do this, we must be provided with complete insurance information. We do not accept or file any secondary insurance; Medicare; Out-of-State Medicaid; Motor Vehicle Accident: or, Worker’s Compensation. Every effort will be made to closely estimate your co-payments and deductibles, which are due at the time of service.  Please note that some Well Visits may include a Sick Visit and may incur a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible with these types of visits. 

If the patient is self-pay- without insurance coverage, all fees are due and payable at the time services are rendered unless prior arrangements have been made with our business office. 

If you are a parent of a minor, it is the responsibility of the parent who is seeking treatment for the child to ensure that payment is rendered accordingly. 

It is also the parent’s responsibility to understand their insurance coverage, so we encourage all parents to contact their insurance company prior to treatment. Before being seen, we will verify coverage from your insurance carrier.   

All co-payments and deductibles are due up front and payable by check, cash or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Care Credit). Payments can be made in-person, phone, or via the Portal. eStatements will be available via Children’s Medical Center Portal (monthly patient statements).  Any check returned by your bank for any reason, will be assessed a $25.00 return check fee which will be added to your account and must be paid in full by either cash or credit card prior to any follow up visits. 

By signing below, I understand that I am responsible for the payment of services provided. If for any reason I am delinquent in my payments, I will be responsible for the cost of collections on an overdue bill. I acknowledge receipt of the financial policy and a copy shall remain in my child’s chart.

Children's Medical Center Privacy Policy

Efficiency through the use of technology

You will be encouraged to consult our website, register for and use our patient portal, and effectively use automated reminders for appointments and for routine care/immunizations that are due.

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

• We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.
• We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.
• We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from 31 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at Children's Medical Center.

Children's Medical Center may require payment for the completion of some form’s that parents ask us to complete. We receive many requests which require increased administrative time and financial resources in excess of what is normally needed to complete the medical record. 

The following forms will be completed at no charge to the patient: 

• School/Sports physical forms 
• Return to school forms 
• Doctor's certification of sickness to excuse absence from school/sports 
• Shot records 
• Copies of records sent to other physicians for transfer to another practice or coordination of care 

The following forms and medical record copies will be assessed a fee for completion: 

• FMLA $25 per form 
• Home Bound form $25 per form
• Disability $25 per form 
• Letter of Explanation of Condition/Treatment, e.g. for attorney $25 per letter 
• Misc. Patient requests not covered above or below $25 
• Copies of Medical Records to Parent/Legal Guardian/Attorney other than another healthcare provider Instructions: 

1. $1 per page for the 1st -25 pages, plus $.25 for each page thereafter (please see separate Medical Record Releases Form on our website for these requests) 

Instructions

• Submit the form completion request to the office where your child is normally seen well in advance of requested form(s). We will attempt to complete the forms as quickly as possible however, in order to properly address them we need adequate time to review the patient’s records. 
• Parent/Legal Guardian must complete all their information on the form prior to the request 
• Provide a stamped/addressed envelope to expedite mailing of completed forms 
• If requesting records to be released, the Record Release form must be completed • Forms/Requests for records must be accompanied with any required payment specified above 

We will make every effort to complete these forms within 5-7 business days; however, we cannot make any assurance of completion with the patient’s time frame(s). Payment is required prior to completion of all forms.

It is the goal of North Pinellas Children’s Medical Center to provide all patients with the best care possible.  If patients or families have concerns or complaints, we encourage you to bring them to the attention of our staff immediately so we can address them appropriately.   

It is the policy of Children's Medical Center to address all patient complaints and grievances in a fair, timely and professional manner.  Whenever possible, we attempt to resolve patient questions or concerns quickly and informally.  In the event that concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, patients are afforded the opportunity to file a formal grievance. 

Grievance forms are available upon request at all locations or may be accessed via the practice’s website.  Completed and returned grievance forms will be submitted to the Manager of the  location to which the grievance applies.   

The Office Manager will investigate each complaint in a fair and timely manner and will respond to the patient within 5 business days of receiving the complaint.  Some grievances cannot be fully addressed within 5 business days, however, the manager will at least make contact with the patient within 5 business days of the submission of the grievance to advise them that the process is underway. 

If after review and response by the Office Manager, the patient is still dissatisfied, the grievance shall be referred to the CEO for review.   

Complaints and grievances will not ever be documented in the patient’s permanent record with the exception of threats to self, others, or public safety.  Complaints and grievances are treated as confidential information within the organization.