My son is currently seeing Clair Hawkins a certified nurse practitioner (CRNP) at Crofton Pediatrics. We love Clair and she has already helped us get him to fix his reversal of days & nights and help us have him sleeping through the night (9 hours strait) by 2.25 months.
I also had a silly new parent question I left on her voice mail, and she called me back in an hour!!! No visit needed :)
I love the effiecency of their office. There is a separeate waiting room for sick childeren. This is great because I don't want my infant getting sick by going for his checkup!!! They always have a kids movie like "Bugs Life" playing on monitors thoughout the office which helps to entertain young children. They don't have toys or piles of books but these are things that frequently spread infection. If your child needs a toy as a distraction bring one from home, then you know where it's been. Also I have not had to wait more than 5-10 minutes to see Claire when I have come!!! And then they are just being curtious to give you time for your papers IF NEEDED. :-)
The visits can be overwhelming with paperwork OR you can download them at home and have them already completed before you leave your house. I do this all the time!!!!
Another person mentioned that they repeat the same paperwork. This is because many things can change from one visit to the next (i.e. developmental stages). Parents often forget to mention things like a change of address or home daycare change to their doctor. Either of these changes could mean new exposure to lead paint and so the screen for this possibly mind altering problem every visit. Plus repeat paperwork doesn't take long if nothing has changed. It really is simple!!!
Another person also mentioned a separate counter for appointments and payments. I have found that separate people/counters means the person who is taking my money can also easily and correctly help me with my billing question. Other offices have a secratary do all payment, scheduling, etc. but this wide variety may mean she doesn't know specifics. For example why your insurance didn't cover the visit. That secretary may need to take 3 days to ask their billing specialist who is parttime. When my insurance declined to pay for my initial visit, Crofton Pediatrics resolved it that day within 5 minutes!!!
This group of offices also has the bonus of weekend hours, which many private/smaller practices do not have. Their doctors also rotate staffing "Night Time Pediatrics" so my child can be seen at any time of day by the same group of doctors/nurse practictioners.
If you think you're the type of parent who will have alot of questions I would recomend a nurse practitioner over a doctor because in general they have more time to talk to you, regardless of what office group you choose.
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