A recent study in the journal Pediatrics (March 2001) suggested that children who develop a long-term relationship with a single pediatrician are healthier and hospitalized less than children who switch off between several doctors’ offices, the ER, the walk-in clinic, and the local health department.
The unfortunate “buffet-style” approach to a child’s health means no single doctor has a complete set of records for the child. Treatment of chronic problems is incorrect or delayed, because each doctor has to start from scratch each time, not knowing what tests were done or what medications were used before. Nothing is documented; everything is guesswork. This is frustrating for both the doctor and the family.>. When you choose us to be your child’s pediatrician, we want that location to be our office (or, in the hospital, under our care.) Obviously, occasionally your child really will have a true emergency and must go to the hospital emergency room. But for other problems that worry you, please come to our office or call us, day or night.
Patients who seek care outside our office due to emergency need to notify us, even if it’s the middle of the night. This allows us to authorize the ER visit for your insurance company and to obtain records of the visit in a timely matter. We cannot retroactively approve ER visits!