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Reception Rooms

We have two separate reception rooms for sick and well children to minimize the chance of “catching something” at the doctor’s office.

You should take your child to the SICK reception room if he or she has any of the following:

  • Fever
  • Cough or Runny nose
  • Sore Throat
  • Ear Ache
  • Vomiting or Diarrhea
  • Rash (Other than Diaper Rash)

If any of the above symptoms are present, even if your child is coming in for a well physical or an ear recheck, please use the SICK reception room. The WELL reception room is for children who have no contagious symptoms. Your child will most likely be well for most of the check-up visits. There are also some office visits for illnesses that are not contagious – headaches, longstanding abdominal pain, injuries, and ear rechecks (if your child is well). Since these illnesses are not contagious, your child should go to the WELL reception room.

If you have any questions about which reception room is the best place for you, please ask us. Please do not allow your children to eat or drink in our reception rooms. We try our best to keep them neat and clean for all of our patients. Children under the age of 12 should never be left alone in our reception rooms. For their own safety, they must accompany you to the exam rooms.

Emergencies

There are a few true pediatric emergencies that are best not handled in our office. We are more than happy to handle many urgent conditions that arise, but for your child’s safety our nursing staff will sometimes direct you to an Emergency Room. These will include situations that may require emergency allergic reaction treatment, trauma requiring prompt x-ray or surgery consult, severe airway and breathing problems, severe head trauma, and cuts needing stitches.

These and other such situations may undergo dangerous delay by calling us or coming here first. Our strongest interest is your child’s well being and safety, and in these rare instances the best place for your child is an Emergency Room.

Your Time is Valuable!

We’ve all had this feeling as patients in doctors’ offices. We understand how frustrating it seems. We consider your time valuable and know how hard it is to wait with children.

We would like to explain how our schedule works and where the tie-ups occur.

  • We try to schedule our well visits in blocks of time that will not be interrupted by many unplanned sick appointments. We feel that parents who have made well appointments two or three months in advance should not have to wait to be seen because there are many ill children that day. However, other problems still occur that can cause you to have to wait for your well appointment. Sometimes a physical exam can require more than the expected time due to an unusual problem. In addition, visits scheduled to be relatively short (like ear rechecks) can become very long when parents ask us to address additional problems. If you feel your own visit will require more time than usual due to questions or concerns you have about your child, please let the receptionist know when you make the appointment. This would help alleviate frustration for the patients following you.
  • In the course of a day, parents may bring an extra-unscheduled child along for us to “take a peek at” (which entails a complete office visit). We prefer not to do this, but it is hard for us to ignore an ill child. If you find yourself with one child with an appointment and another of your children is suddenly ill and also requires an appointment, please let the receptionist know so that both children can be seen with the least disruption to the other patients’ appointments.

If everyone understands all of these factors, we can try to meet everyone’s needs in the most prompt fashion. If you do find yourself waiting and cannot keep your child happy with toys and books, notify the Medical Assistant or Receptionist that you would like to walk in the hall with your child. We will find you when it is your turn to be seen. We have asked our staff to notify you if they anticipate an unusually long wait so that you have the option of leaving the office to walk around the building or rescheduling your appointment.

Phone Calls

Many routine issues are addressed on our website. Our staff of nurses handles calls for minor illnesses or for problems of a minor nature (i.e. feeding, fussiness, bowel movements, etc). You will find our nurses a good resource for many of your questions. You can reach them by calling (248) 855-7510 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. If your question is one that a doctor should answer, you will receive a call back from the doctor at midday or the end of the afternoon. Of course, we are always available for emergency matters.

For illness related issues it is best to call the office in the morning. This way, if your child needs to be seen, there will be adequate time to do so during office hours. If there is any doubt as to whether or not your child needs to be seen, it is wiser and safer for your child to be examined. In general, we do not feel it is wise or safe to make a diagnosis over the phone.

For non-emergent problems, please do not expect us to interrupt a patient who is in the office. If the nurse cannot help you, a doctor will return your call. If everyone adheres to this principle, you, too, can and will get our undivided attention when you are in the office.

If an additional child may need to be seen, please schedule an appointment for this child as well. This will prevent undue waiting by other patients, as well as for your children. Please do not expect us to see two children in the time allotted for one – this delays appointments and is unfair to the patients that follow your appointment.

If an illness related appointment cannot be kept, please notify our office. Check-up appointments that are missed or not cancelled with a 24 hour notice will be charged a $25.00 cancellation fee.

In order to make phone calls more satisfactory and valuable, PLEASE:

  • Write out your questions – be brief and to the point.
  • Have a pencil and paper ready to write down any instructions we may give you.
  • Have your pharmacy phone number available.
  • Request prescription refills only during regular office hours.

After Hours, Weekends, Holidays

A physician will always be available after regular office hours and on holidays for emergency purposes. In the case of an emergency, call the office at (248) 855-7510 to receive the phone number for our answering service. A doctor will be paged and will call you as soon as possible. Please notify the answering service if a doctor has not returned your call within an hour.

We ask that you use good judgment and consideration when calling after hours. We are only too happy to respond to your call for emergency situations. Unnecessary calls, however, only detract from the service we can render to others with serious problems.

In the case of a severe emergency, call the local fire and rescue service (911) or go to the nearest hospital where immediate care is available. The hospital will contact us.

After Hour Care

We understand that on rare occasions, the need for medical advice may arise after hours. Our answering service handles after-hours calls and relays messages to the doctor on call. Messages are grouped, so delays of 1-2 hours are possible. Please remember, we have limited ability to diagnose or treat your child over the telephone. In a true emergency, call 911 or take your child immediately to an Emergency Room. You can certainly call us with any urgent questions.

Our answering service is available to contact the doctor on call only for urgent medical problems. They are not authorized to take information about appointment requests or changes. Appointment calls can only be made directly to our receptionist staff during office hours (starting at 8:30 am).

  • Answering Service Phone Number: (248) 544-6948

We have included below a list of community resources available to you for after hours care. Please make sure that your insurance company does not restrict where you can go for this type of care. Please call us for non emergency care so we can direct you if you feel you cannot wait for office hours.

Beaumont After Hours Clinic

  • Wm. Beaumont Hosptial ER, Royal Oak
  • Phone: (248) 898-0222
  • Hours: Mon – Fri 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm
  • Satrurday 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm
  • Sunday 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm
  • Holidays: 3:00 pm to 9:30 pm

**Providence Park

  • 47601 Grand River & Beck Rd, Novi, MI 48374
  • Phone: (248) 465-4200
  • 24 Hour Emergency Room

**Lakes Urgent Care

  • 2300 Haggerty Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48323
  • Phone: (248) 926-9111

Wm. Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak

  • 3601 W 13 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48073-6769
  • Phone: (248) 898-5000

**Huron Valley Hospital

  • 1601 E Commerce, Milford, MI 4838
  • Phone: (248) 898-5000

**Providence Hospital–Southfield

  • 16001 W 9 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075
  • Phone: (248) 424-3000

**Botsford Hospital

  • 28050 Grand River, Farmington Hills, MI 48366
  • Phone: (248) 471-8000

**St. Joseph Mercy Hospital

  • 900 Woodward Avenue, Pontiac, MI 48341
  • Phone: (248) 858-3000

**We are not on staff at these hospitals

For after hours care, you may have insurance restrictions. Some Urgent Care facilities require cash payment at the time of service. It is best to obtain this information from your insurance company before your child has an after-hours illness.

Privacy Policy

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Overview

The law requires us to keep your protected health information (“PHI”) private in accordance with this Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”), as long as this Notice remains in effect. We are also required to provide you with a paper copy of this Notice, which contains our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your PHI.

We may revise our privacy practices and the terms of our Notice at any time, as permitted or required by applicable law. Any revisions to our Notice may be retroactive. Our Notice will be updated and made available to our patients prior to any significant revisions of our privacy practices and policies. This Notice is effective April 14, 2003.

Uses and Disclosure

Treatment. We may use or disclose your PHI to any physicians or other health care providers involved with the medical services provided to you, such as release of your name and insurance information to a specialist providing medical tests.

Payment

Your PHI may be used or disclosed to collect payment for the medical services provided to you, such as release of the date and type of treatment we provided to you on a claim for payment made to your health insurance company.

Health Care Operations

We may use or disclose your PHI as part of our internal health care operations, such as quality of care audits of our staff and affiliates, training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing, or credentialing activities.

Continuing Care

We may provide you with appointment reminders or information concerning health issues, benefits and services, or treatment alternatives based upon your PHI that we believe may be of interest to you.

Family and Friends

With your permission, or in some emergencies, we may disclose your PHI to your family members, friends, or other people to aid in your treatment or the collection of payment. A disclosure of your PHI may also be made if we determine it is reasonably necessary or in your best interests for such purposes as allowing a person acting on your behalf to receive filled prescriptions, medical supplies, test results, etc.

Locating Responsible Parties

We may disclose your PHI to locate, identify or notify a family member, your personal representative, or other person responsible for your care. You may determine the extent or recipients of such disclosure, if we determine you are capable. Otherwise, we will disclose the minimum necessary PHI to locate a responsible party.

Disasters

We may use or disclose your PHI to any public or private entity authorized by law or by its charter to assist in disaster relief efforts.

Required by Law

We may use or disclose your PHI when required by law. For example, your PHI may be released when required by privacy laws, worker’s compensation or similar laws, public health laws, court or administrative orders, certain subpoenas, certain discovery requests, or other laws, regulations or legal processes. Under certain circumstances, we may make limited disclosures of PHI directly to law enforcement officials or correctional institutions if you are an inmate, lawful detainee, suspect, fugitive, material witness, missing person, or a victim or suspected victim of abuse, neglect, domestic violence or other crimes. We may disclose your PHI to the extent reasonably necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. We may disclose your PHI when necessary to assist law enforcement officials capture someone who has admitted to a crime against you or who has escaped from lawful custody.

Health Oversight

We may disclose your PHI to health oversight agencies for audits, investigations, or other oversight activities but only to the extent permitted or required by law.

Deceased Persons

After your death, we may disclose your PHI to a coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or organ procurement organization to the extent required by law.

Research

Your PHI may also be used or disclosed for research purposes only in those limited circumstances not requiring your written authorization, such as those which have been approved by an institutional review board that has established procedures for ensuring the privacy of your PHI.

Military and National Security

We may disclose to military authorities the PHI of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. When required by law, we may disclose your PHI for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities.

Authorizations

We will use or disclose your PHI only as described in this Notice or as otherwise authorized in writing by you. We may request your authorization to use or disclose your PHI for any purpose but cannot require your authorization as a condition of your treatment. You may revoke any authorization in writing at any time but such revocation will not affect any prior authorized uses or disclosures.

Access and Copies

In most cases, you have the right to review or to purchase copies of your PHI. Please contact our Privacy Officer in writing to request access to or copies of PHI, or with inquiries regarding our copying fees.

Disclosure Accounting

You have the right to receive an accounting of the instances, if any, in which your PHI was disclosed for purposes other than Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations, pursuant to a signed authorization from you, or certain other disclosures we are permitted to make without your authorization. For each 12-month period, you may receive one free copy of an accounting for any period after April 13, 2003 and up to six years in length. Subsequent requests will be subject to a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Additional Restrictions

You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI, but we are not required to honor such a request. We will be bound by such restrictions only if we agree to do so in writing signed by our Privacy Officer.

Alternate Communications

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your PHI by alternative means or in alternative locations. We will accommodate any reasonable request if it specifies in writing the alternative means or location, and provides a satisfactory explanation of how future payments will be handled.

Amendments to PHI

You have the right to request that we amend your PHI. Any such request must be in writing and contain a detailed explanation for the requested amendment. Under certain circumstances, we may deny your request but will provide you a written explanation of the denial. You have the right to send us a statement of disagreement to which we may prepare a rebuttal, a copy of which will be provided to you at no cost. Please contact our Privacy Officer with any further questions about amending your medical record.

Complaints

If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint with us by notifying our Privacy Officer in writing or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as permitted by law. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint.


  • Attention: Privacy Officer
  • Orchard Pediatrics, P.C.
  • 6900 Orchard Lake Rd, Suite 315
  • West Bloomfield, MI 48322-3405
  • Phone: (248) 855-7510
  • Fax: (248) 855-5626

Copyright © 2010 Orchard Pediatrics, P.C.