Realizing how lucky I am with Ped office

[mmsmom]

I continue to see posts with people who can not get sick appointments or have to pay to talk to a nurse and it makes me so grateful for how our Ped office is run.

It is part of a major children's hospital which is great because they are all on the same system so if you go to a specialist, the ped can see the report. Or if you go to the ER, the ped knows. I have had the office call me after an ER visit to see if everything is okay.

There are 3 locations in my county and they are all close to me. They guarantee same-day sick appointments 7 days a week. In 6+ years I have never not been able to get an appointment same day. A couple times I've had to go to a different location but not a big deal. I usually try to call in the morning but there have been a couple times when things have not gotten bad until the afternoon and I have still been able to get in.

There is a doctor call-in hour 7 days a week from 8-9 AM where you can speak directly to a doctor; as in the doctor answers the phone. No charge, just call & hold for a bit and ask the doc your questions. If he/she says to bring them in you are transfered then to make the appt.

They are open 7 days a week and have late hours (till 8 I believe) at one location each weekday. On the weekends they take sick appointments in the mornings.

You can always call and speak to a nurse or get a call back from a nurse 24 hours a day with no charge.

Their offices run on-time. Seriously, I don't know how they do it but I have never waited more than 15 minutes.

The downside is that although I know most of the doctors, they do not know me. It is like a factory but I'm okay with that given the alternative. I do feel they spend a lot of time with my DC and never feel like they are rushing through.

They are totally computerized... no paper charts, prescriptions are sent electronically.

I am totally spoiled now and get irritated when I go to a doctor and have to wait, or never get a call back or can't get an appointment.

Anyone else have a great ped office?

[twowhat?]

That is super nice!! We have a great ped and head nurse, and the front desk is always prompt with submitting things to insurance/etc. But the practice suffers from solo practice syndrome. They often run late, they are JUST now switching to EMR (which I think is the reason they totally failed to tell me that they would have to reschedule the girls' well-check because the Dr would be on vacation for spring break...yes, they will get their hands slapped for this.)

But I won't budge because the ped is so awesome. And, I have never had trouble getting in for sick visits (probably the reason they often run late!) I can also talk to the nurse to determine whether I need to bring in a kid and that has been helpful many times. They also have some Saturday morning hours (which they share with a nearby practice) which has come in useful a few times.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Love mine. Solo practice + part time NP. if I have an after hours emergency, I get to talk to my Dr. vs some nurse who doesn't know us at all.

He doesn't do anything electronically yet and I'm ok with that.

He will always fit you in for a sick kid appointment.

I have only had 1 long wait in 5 years and normal wait is less than 5 minutes, if there is a wait at all.

Best part is that he never, ever acts rushed. When he is in the appointment he us totally focused and takes his time. He's funny to and is always practicing fun tricks to entertain the kids. :)

Our very first ped was awesome too but we moved away. I loved his spacious, carpeted exam rooms (great for a crawling baby...yes, I know many of you are anti carpet). This was 10 years ago and his website was great and he emailed. His nurse was sweet and helpful. Again, a solo practice so after hours I got my ped. He took great notes and always had current, good info to share.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

we love our practice. they have Saturday morning hours dedicated for sick visits, and just added a new thing where every morning from 8-9am were drop-in hours...AWESOME as the past few months kids had a ton of EIs and random bugs from daycare. we didnt' have to wait long at all, and often times if it was just a check up on a past EI they could be in and out at the appt, then DH could drop them off at daycare and go to work.

also our ped rocks. the kiddos both really like him, and they're slow to warm up to strangers. he has a really good bedside manner and really takes his time with them.

[PZMommy]

I love our Pedi's office. There are three doctors, and all are wonderful! I've always gotten a same day appointment when my son has been sick. Even if I don't call until 3pm, they fit him in before 5. He has multiple health issues, and his pedi always takes the time to really check him out. If I call and leave a message for her, she returns it within an hour. The wait time in her office is minimal. Three nights a week they have a pediatric after hours, which has come in handy, when I've picked him up from daycare and noticed he is looking sick. The front office staff is just wonderful. I can't say enough wonderful things about the practice we go to.

[BayGirl2]

I posted my examples in the other thread, mainly about the technology parts that I appreciate. I also have never had a problem getting in for an urgent appt. If I call on a Sat night I'll usually get an 8am appt at the local hospital clinic. Once, the day before a vacation they were booked and I drove 20 minutes to another hospital - totally worth it to treat a suspected ear infection before an 8 hour drive. Our Ped knows us and is super sweet, but I can see any of her colleagues if she's out and they are all good too.

Mine is not so much my Dr (although I like them) its my HC system. I have Kaiser Permanente HMO in Northern California and I totally appreciate the system. In the last 12 years I spend 1.5 years w/o Kaiser. In that period I had so much less preventative care and so much more stress just because of how hard it was to navigate a PPO.