We have found it helpful to acquaint new patients with our office routine. We hope the following information will assist you in obtaining the services available in our office when you need them.
Regular Office Hours
Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 12:00pm and 2:00pm – 5:00pm. There is a weekend Walk-in Clinic on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon at our Empire Court Location.
Telephone Triage
If you would like to talk to the nurse, you can call the office during regular hours. The nurses are then given a message and will try their best to answer you within 24 hours. There is a Mary Washington Hospital Healthlink Nurse available when the office is closed. There is a $15 fee for this triage service. The responsible party will be billed for this telephone triage as the office pays to provide this service. You can also inquire if there is a triage service offered by your insurance carrier.
After Hours and Holidays
If you call our office after hours or on holidays the message will refer you to the hospital triage service. There is a charge for the telephone triage service as outlined over.
Urgent Care
We realize that families may need to seek medical attention when our office is closed. It is for this reason that we started the Weekend Clinic on Saturday mornings at our Empire Court Office (opened from 9am-noon). If you feel the need to have your chid seen at an urgent care, we recommend Prime Care, Minute Clinic and Nextcare. We are concerned that one of the other more popular clinics has less experitise with handling pediatric patients. Sometimes lack of experience with pediatric patients can lead to overtesting and inappropriate referrals and can result in increased family anxiety and expense.
Hospital Affiliations
Our doctors have referral privileges at Mary Washington Hospital and Spotsylvania Regional Medical Hospital, both of which have a Pediatric Hospital Service. The Pediatric Hospitalist Service is a group of trained Pediatricians who take care of newborns and pediatrics admitted for inpatient care. Upon discharge they are in contact with us about our patients’ continued care and follow-up in our office
Appointments
Please arrive for you appointment on time, so that we are able to keep to our schedule as much as possible. If you are a new patient we advise that you arrive 15 minutes early to fill out new patient paperwork. Alternatively, visit the “Forms” section of our website, and you may download the first four forms and complete them prior to arriving. We try to leave a number of open slots for “sick visits”. If you think your child needs to be seen, call the office during regular hours and we will can try to help determine when and if your child should be seen in the office.
Immunization Policy
Preventive medicine is cornerstone of pediatric medicine, and immunizations are a large part of what we do to prevent illness in children. Dr. Mancini and Dr. Fernando follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control in regards to immunizations. We feel very strongly that immunizations are one of the most important medical services we can offer your child. We welcome the opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. Click to find the recommended American Academy of Pediatrics schedule for age 0-6 years and 7-18 years.
Prenatal Visits
For expectant parents looking for a pediatrician for their new baby, a prenatal visit is a great way to get a feel for a practice. Prenatal visits allow parents to meet some of the office staff and ask any questions about our practice. We encourage prenatal visits, which can be scheduled at 540-361-1800 with our head nurse, Trina.
Transferring From Another Practice
Please call to verify that we are accepting new patients. If you are transferring to PL Pediatrics from another practice, we appreciate your entrusting us with your child’s health care. To help you request a transfer of your records from your previous physician, we have provided a Record Release Form, which can be found in the “Forms” section. The blank form may be printed and then filled out by hand. Be sure to sign the form, and then send it to your previous physician’s office.
Transferring Out of the Practice
We are always sorry to have patients transfer out of our practice, but we understand that there are valid reasons for doing so. To help you request a transfer of your records to another office or clinic, we have provided below a “Record Release Form” which can be found in the “Forms” section of our website. The completed and signed form may be brought, faxed or mailed to our office to request your records to be transferred. There is no charge for medical record to be transferred directly to another physician. However, if you would like a copy of your records there is a charge.
HIPAA Privacy Policy
A copy of our office privacy policy can be found here.
Maintenance of Medical Records
