We are accepting new patients age 17 and under.

We provide the most up to date care recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 21, but do not see new patients over 18 years of age.

Our office has various hours to accommodate our patients.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:00 am -7:00 pm

Friday 8:00 am- 4:00 pm

Saturday 8:30 to close (Rotated with our sister practice Doctors Faith Hackett and Jackie Ginsburg)

The above is based on provider availability.

Please note that Saturday hours are designated for sick only and are seen on a first come first serve basis. We schedule these appointments every ten minutes so we can accommodate all of our patients needs.

In the event that the office is closed during regular business hours (holidays, inclement weather, and unforeseen emergency) there will be a recording in place of our regular recording. If you receive this message please do not leave any urgent messages as they will not be heard until the following business day. As always, if you are experiencing a true emergency please dial 911 to seek urgent care.

After hours, for issues that are unable to wait until the office is open you can call the following: 

Ask AAMC            443-481-1000 (used for advice such as medicine doses, whether to be seen by urgent or emergency services prior to office reopening)

Provider on Call 443-481-3175

(For other concerns that cannot wait until the office reopens. Please note that we do rotate our call schedule with our sister practice Drs. Faith Hackett and Jackie Ginsburg) 

Any truly life-threatening emergency including but not limited to significant bleeding, seizures, severe respiratory distress, cyanosis (turning blue), poisoning, anaphylactic shock, head trauma with loss of consciousness, etc. should call 911 or go directly to the nearest emergency room.

In non-life-threatening situations, we recommend you call our regular office telephone number which will ring through to the answering service. They will have the provider on call contact you and recommend an appropriate course of action which may involve an ER visit, office appointment during regular office hours, or home treatment.

If you do not get a call back from the on-call provider within 30 minutes, please call again as there may be a technical problem with the pagers or phone system or the provider may be tied up with another emergency.

To request a refill for a prescription, please use our patient portal or call the office and leave the following:

• Your child's name 

• His/her date of birth 

• The name and dosage of the medication 

• The name and telephone number of the pharmacy 

• Your name and a telephone number where you can be reached if there is a problem or question about your refill request. 

Please note: depending on the day of the week, it may take up to 48 hours to process your refill request.

First, speak with your provider about which specialist they recommend for your child. Then, make an appointment with the specialist's office. Once you have a date and time set for an appointment with the specialist, please use our patient portal or call the office with that information and we will issue the referral, if appropriate.

If you have a question about your child, you can message your provider on the patient portal.. The provider or an assistant will return your message as soon as possible as these are checked throughout the day. Do not leave urgent or emergency messages during the weekend hours.

With your written permission, any person is allowed to bring your child to the office. The proxy form is located on our website. We strongly recommend a parent/legal guardian accompany your child to the office for any well child checkups, vaccinations, or procedures (or at least be available by telephone) so that you are available to answer any questions that may come up in the course of that visit. Children 18 years old and older may sign for themselves and therefore do not need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

If you have a newborn you should call the office the day after your discharge from the hospital to schedule an appointment.

Appointments are scheduled to accommodate the patient and physician. We recommend that you schedule routine visits such as Well Exam, Sports Physicals, ADHD and Consults far in advance as these appointments book quickly. We try to accommodate all same day sick visits.

If you are unable to keep your appointment please notify us at least 24 hours in advance. For same day sick visit cancellations we require a 2 hour notice. You may notify us by calling the office and speaking to an office assistant or by leaving a message on our voicemail. If you miss your scheduled appointment without notifying us within the proper timeframe you will be charged a $50.00 no-show fee. Please note that if you arrive 10 minutes beyond your scheduled appointment you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.

We reserve the right to dismiss you from the practice if you have 3 No Show appointments.

If your child is up to date on their regular physicals, we will be happy to fill out forms for school, sports, daycare, or camps. If your child is not up to date on their regular physicals, you will be required to schedule a well visit or a sport's physical.

Forms can be dropped off or faxed to our office.

*Forms are subject to a $15 fee that requires payment upon form completion. Please allow 3-4 business days for the forms to be completed.

We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for frequency of well visits, routine tests, and immunizations. Please see our Immunizations form, a form that includes the schedule of visits and associated tests and shots. We do have an immunization policy that we adhere to for the wellbeing of your child and our other patients. 

In non-life-threatening situations, please call the office. One of our medical staff can advise whether your child needs an office appointment (usually), an ER visit, or if home treatment alone is adequate.

Should your child need care urgently and for some reason you have been unable to reach our office to schedule an appointment, you may present to the office for an acute problem and you will be worked into our schedule. Our staff will assess your child upon their arrival to determine if they need to be brought back immediately. However, if their need is not emergent, their wait time may be a little longer than usual as we will need to work them in after patients who are already scheduled.

Only after seeing the patient can a trained medical professional know which tests, if any, are necessary. In order to properly and accurately diagnose and treat any patient, they must be seen and examined to 1) confirm the problem and 2) exclude (or treat) other possible diagnoses. Diagnosis over the telephone or without first seeing the patient is at best imprecise and at worst, dangerous.

Most illnesses and fevers in children are caused by viruses.  These germs don't respond to antibiotics and most improve with supportive care. Antibiotics have risks that include resistance to future infections, allergic reactions, and other side effects. The best pediatric care requires that we examine our patients, make an accurate diagnosis, and only then decide if your child needs antibiotics (or other treatment).

If  your child’s care needs to be moved to another practice, you may request to have your medical records transferred. We will provide you with a Record Release form which must be completed. The records will be prepared for you to personally pick up. There is a fee to copy and handle the records. These fees fluctuate per Maryland State Law. If the need arises, please ask the office assistant for the current fee for copying medical records.

Pediatric Place participates with most insurance companies. Please ask our staff to verify our participation with your plan. As a courtesy, we will file claims to your insurance carrier. You are ultimately responsible for the charges for the services that are provided to you. If your child has an HMO or MCO insurance plan, one of our providers must be selected as your Primary Care Physician (PCP) on the insurance card prior to the visit. 

Depending on your insurance plan, you may have a co-pay or deductible. Co-Pays are a set amount that you are required to pay at each visit. This may be located on your insurance card under Co-Pay and have a P with a dollar amount. Deductibles are a set amount that you owe out of your pocket before your insurance carrier will begin to pay for services rendered. Co-Pays are due at the time of check in for your visit. Any balances that you have on your account will be collected at the time of your visit. Statements are sent out monthly. These balances are due upon receipt of your statement. Please note that reduction or rejection of claims submitted to your insurance carrier does not relieve you of your financial obligation.

Rules about co-pays are established by your insurance company and are a part of your contract with that company. If your contract requires co-pay, we are legally obligated to collect it at each visit. For more information about your insurance company's policies regarding co-pay, contact your insurance representative directly. Co-pays are due at the time of service.

The health insurance industry is ever-changing in its plans and sub-plans.  Therefore, it isn’t possible for us to be the mediator between you and your insurance carrier. It is up to you to understand your insurance benefit package. Your clear understanding of our financial policy is important to our professional relationship. Please be aware that payment of your bill is considered part of your overall treatment. We have developed a set of guidelines regarding our office policies, financial responsibility and general office information. If you have any additional questions, please ask one of our office assistants for guidance.

We can work with you! Please contact Crystal Bacorn (our billing representative) 410-360-4446 as soon as possible to set up a payment plan that will fit into your budget. 

Sure thing! We make every effort to work with you to make payment arrangements if your account becomes outstanding. 

That said, to stay in business, we have to pay our bills too.  Patient accounts that are not paid in a reasonable amount of time may be sent to an external collection agency and reported to the credit bureaus. In addition to outstanding balance, you may be responsible for any fees or charges that we incur from the collection agency while attempting to collect your balance. If you do not meet your financial obligation that you arranged and refuse to pay on the balance on your account, we can refuse care and or terminate your child’s care from our practice.

For your convenience, we accept cash, personal checks, MasterCard, Visa and Discover. There will be a $40.00 fee for all returned checks.

If you have a matter that you would like to discuss about Pediatric Place please notify our Practice Administrator, Susan Shaffner at (410) 360-2517.