Weekend appointments for minor emergencies available for After Hours Care
To ensure that your child can be seen when sick, we hold time for “same day” appointments. All visits are by appointment including our weekend urgent clinics. If you walk-in with a sick child we will not turn you away, but we will have to fit you in around those who have scheduled appointments. To keep your wait time shorter please be sure to call for an appointment as your sick baby will be more comfortable waiting at home than in our office.
Because we hold time each day to see sick children your routine visits must sometimes be scheduled further in advance. The amount of time needed for check-ups increases as your children get older and are seen less frequently. That means it is all the more important that you call in advance for physical exams – especially if your children participate in sports or camps that will require physicals. It is often difficult for us to schedule older child check-ups on short notice. So, give us a call before that birthday comes rolling around again and let us schedule you in advance.
We try to accommodate ourselves to your needs and preferences. Our appointments are scheduled to respect your time. We ask that you show the same respect for our time. We carefully arrange our schedule in an effort to efficiently optimize your time here. We reserve a dedicated amount of time for each visit, and reserve large blocks of time for complex issues or annual check-ups (often as much as 30 minutes). We appreciate your promptness and consideration in arriving at your scheduled time. However, if you need to change an appointment, a 24-hour notice is requested. Missed appointments without proper notice will result in a significant missed appointment fee, depending upon the appointment type missed.
We do have weekend clinic appointments available for minor emergencies (Saturday 9:00 a.m.-11:00a.m & Sunday 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.). The clinic hours are designed to keep you from having to go to an emergency department over the weekend if it can be avoided. Visits are available by appointment. Please do not walk in without an appointment as we will have to work you in after those who have called and scheduled an appointment.
We recommend that you DO NOT take your child to any other after-hours clinic, urgent care center, or retail based clinic. We want your child to receive consistent, high-quality, non-fragmented, continuous care. For that reason, our office is open approximately 360 days per year. If your insurance company does not cover weekend after hours fees, there is a $20 surcharge that you will be responsible for at the time of the visit. This fee will not be filed to your insurance company. If you are not sure if your insurance company covers this fee, please do not hesitate to ask at the time of your visit.
For after hours care, they’re two options for getting a message to us:
- Just leave it for us on our answering machine! Call 706- 868-0389 and press “O” at any time. If you leave details, we can often call you back with a complete answer. We will try to return your call even before the office reopens.
- You can also contact our after-hours nurse triage service by calling 706- 868-0390. Please note there is a fee of $15.00 each time you use this service. Alternatively, most of the major insurance companies offer a similar service to their members at no charge—your insurance card would have that information if it is available to you through your plan. Members with Amerigroup can call 800-600-4441. Wellcare members can call 800-919-8807.
Our physicians are unable to provide prescriptions when out of the office. If a prescription is needed, please leave a message at 706-868-0389.