General Pediatric Services

It is easy to see a physician at our office when your child is ill. We always keep appointment times available for same day visits. Just call ahead and make an appointment . Your child will be seen by his or her physician, or if your regular doctor is not available, you may select another of our pediatricians for this visit.

Appointments are available for sick children to be seen Monday – Thursday from 7:30 am to 5:15 pm and Friday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Call 404-252-4611 for an appointment or contact us online using the secure Patient Portal.

On Saturdays we are available to care for sick children by appointment beginning at 9:00 am and closing at 11:30 AM. Our appointment telephone line opens at 8:30 am on Saturday. Walk-in sick visits are not available on Saturday. Our office is closed on Sunday.

We do our best to minimize waiting time, however, there may be unavoidable delays when an acutely ill child requires prolonged care or hospitalization. Also, it is our policy to try to accommodate every ill child who needs a same day appointment and to not direct our patients to hospital emergency departments when our office is open. Sometimes this may cause our physicians to run behind schedule. We ask for your understanding when this happens. We will try to keep you informed of any delays.

Immunizations

We follow the immunization schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control.

We are happy to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines during your child’s well visit. You will also be given an opportunity to read the Vaccine Information Statement for each vaccine prior to administration.

Please be aware that many sites purporting to provide vaccine information are actually operated by anti-vaccine groups. Their information is biased, unscientific and often frightening to the uninformed.

If you want to learn more about immunization, we recommend these resources:

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — Follow the link to “Your Child’s Health” for information about parenting, safety and to visit the independent “Vaccine Education Center”.
• Immunization Action Coalition — The Immunization Action Coalition, a nonprofit organization, works to increase immunization rates and prevent disease by creating and distributing educational materials for health professionals and the public that enhance the delivery of safe and effective immunization services.

Refills

Refills should be requested through the secure Patient Portal on this website or by mail We ask that you not call for routine medication refills.

Chronic and Recurrent Illnesses

Medicines used to treat chronic and stable or recurrent conditions (such as allergies, asthma or gastrointestinal disorders) may be prescribed with refills for as long as one year. If your child uses such medicines, it is a good idea to request a new one-year refillable prescription at each annual checkup. If you need a new prescription for a maintenance medication before your child’s next yearly checkup, you may request a refill through the secure Patient Portal or by mail. Please see the Illnesses Information page for information on common childhood illnesses and dosing charts for fever reducers.

Acute Illnesses

Acute illnesses (such as ear infections, Strep throat and pneumonia) are treated with medications which should be used only for a limited period of time and under the close supervision of a physician. Prescriptions for treatment of acute illness are generally not refillable. If you think you child needs prescription medicine for an acute problem, please come to the office for a medical evaluation. Please see the Illnesses Information page for information on common childhood illnesses and dosing charts for fever reducers.

Attention Deficit Medications

Most medicines used to treat attention deficit disorder (such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Focalin) are closely regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as controlled substances. These prescriptions must be written and signed by the physician and may not be telephoned to a pharmacy. You may still request a refill of one of these medicines using the secure Patient Portal. Please note that your child is required to have an annual physical and a Medication Check visit every 1 – 3 months as required based on length of time on medication and dose for refills to be completed. A written prescription will be mailed to you within two business days.

After Hours

After hours calls should be limited to problems of an acute nature, which require attention before the office reopens. For urgent problems after hours, please call our answering service at 770-985-7886. Before 11pm they will page the physician on call. After 11pm they will route your call to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Nurse Advice Line. If the nurse feels a physician should be notified she will have the service beep our on-call physician. Please call the answering service.

If you have Privacy Director℠ or any kind of call block these must be inactivated for us to return your call. Please keep your line open for the physician’s return call. If you have not received a return call within one hour of your call, please call back. Please try to call during office hours if possible.

We generally use Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Emergency Room for children who must be seen after hours. We prefer that you use CHOA emergency department. Urgent care centers should only be used for minor problems.

If your insurance requires authorization for an emergency room visit, it is your responsibility to contact our Referral Coordinator the following business day.