Appointment Info

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Click Procedure for Evaluating Patients With Illness Symptoms to see our procedures for evaluating sick children in our office during COVID-19


Appointment Descriptions:

WELL CARE APPOINTMENTS, sometimes referred to as Physicals or Routine Care appointments are prescheduled appointments for the purpose of assessing your child’s growth and development, providing anticipatory guidance, and administering recommended vaccinations. The physicians at Howard County Pediatrics utilize American Academy of Pediatric (AAP) guidelines in measuring your child’s progress and to identify any areas of concern that may require further evaluation and monitoring. These appointments are done according to a schedule recommended by the AAP: 9 visits in the first 2 years of life and annually thereafter. A typical appointment would include a physical exam of your child, an assessment of your child’s physical and social development, a determination of age appropriate behavior, and, if indicated, administration of immunizations. Sleep and dietary habits will also be addressed. Concerns about chronic issues might be addressed during a well care appointment, however an additional appointment is usually required to properly focus on evaluation and treatment of chronic conditions.

During a well care visit your physician may address concerns that you may bring or that he/she may discover which are outside the scope of a normal Well Care appointment (headaches, stomach aches, and/or acute issues such as ear aches, sore throats, etc.,). Alternatively, your physician may address a chronic condition that your child may have (ADHD, autism, constipation, etc.). In either case, there may be an additional charge to you in the form of a copay or a deductible depending on your insurance coverage since appropriate billing codes for these issues fall outside the scope of “well care” as defined by insurance companies. WELL CARE appointments can be scheduled up to 6 months in advance.

CHRONIC FOLLOW UP appointments are to re-assess the management of chronic conditions such as asthma, autism, constipation, allergies, eczema, diabetes, cerebral palsy, or behavioral issues. Your child may also see pediatric specialists who are co-managing these problems. These visits enable our physicians to stay up to date with your child’s care and to better assist with complications that may arise. Your physician will determine how often these follow up appointments should occur.

MEDICATION CHECK appointments are for the purpose of evaluating how your child is tolerating prescribed medications for, the effects it is having on school performance and/or behavior issues. MED CHECK appointments may be scheduled up to 6 months in advance.

ADD/ADHD evaluations are scheduled as a 2-appointment process. The first appointment will be with a parent(s) only in attendance and the second with the child and parent(s) together.

SICK VISIT appointments are for all other issues not listed above. These appointments are scheduled for acute illness or injury such as infection, injuries, sore throat, ear pain, and wheezing. We will try to accommodate all patients with acute ailments same day. SICK VISIT appointments can also be made for less urgent chronic issues like headaches, stomachaches, behavior issues, and other lingering aches and pains. We will try to accommodate appointments for these reasons at the earliest mutual time available.
 
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