Are We A Good Fit For You?

Our office follows the schedule outlined by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics. Overuse of antibiotics can cause them to be ineffective if needed again in the future. Educating families on appropriate use of antibiotics is a priority.  This includes finishing the full course even though your child may be feeling better before completion. 

We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone without having examined the child. We do not believe that is good medicine. The doctors at Cornerstone Pediatrics follow evidence based guidelines with all treatments.

We work hard to provide comprehensive medical care and serve as your medical home. To that end, we expect that you contact our office FIRST before seeking specialty care, or heading to another provider for urgent care. We want to be involved in either providing care in our office where appropriate, or referring you to the most appropriate specialist and helping to coordinate your care.

Whenever you do see a specialist, we ask that you request a report be sent directly to our office so we may stay informed and have the most up-to-date information in your medical record.

Our practice prides itself on efficiency through use of technology. You will be encouraged to consult our website, register for and use our patient portal, and effectively use automated reminders for appointments and for routine care/immunizations that are due.

We make every effort to meet the needs of our patients, offering both routine well visits and sick visit appointments. 

To ensure we provided you with the most efficient care we highly recommend you call ahead to schedule an appointment.

Please familiarize yourself with our office hours to see if they work for your family.

We have a physician on call 24/7/365. When our office is closed and you have a question or urgent issue that cannot wait until the morning, Advocare has trained triage nurses who can help you. You can always speak to one of our on-call doctors if determined by triage nurse or by request.

You may wish to check the "Is Your Child Sick?" section of our website for helpful information before using this service. Read more about After Hours care.

Make sure we participate with your insurance plan. 

It is your responsibility to know the limits and coverage of your particular health insurance policy, to show your cards to us at each visit, and be prepared to pay any copays at the time of service.

Our billing staff will do their best to assist you with insurance questions; however, If you have questions about your coverage, it is best check with your specific insurance company. Our office does not want you to be surprised by a bill, but must always bill your health plan based on federal guidelines and the actual services provided.

Insurance copays are expected to be paid at the time of service as are any balances due. We do not routinely bill for copays.  If you are unable to comply, you must sign a patient financial responsibility form which indicates in good faith, you will meet your financial responsibilities to the practice.  If payment is unable to be made in full due to financial hardship, please speak with the billing department prior to the visit and we will be happy to help you set up a payment plan

Well visits may be scheduled up to 3 months in advance. We will send you a text and call notification to remind you when your child is due. Typically, insurance companies will pay for one well visit per 365 days after your child's third birthday, however, some may pay per calendar year. You will need to contact your insurance to confirm their well visit policy. 

For acute care, feel free to call the office to schedule an appointment or speak with a triage nurse. We are proud to offer this service to families as a resource. The nurse will advise on how to treat and manage your child's medical needs at home. The triage nurse will listen to your concerns and determine if an appointment is neccessary for your child. Sometimes an appointment may not be needed. At any point the parent reserves the right to request an appointment. 

It is the goal of Advocare Cornerstone Pediatrics to provide quality treatment and care in a timely manner to all patients. Our appointments are scheduled so that each patient receives the appropriate amount of time to be seen by our physicians. We have implemented a same day cancellation and no-show policy which enables us to ensure proper utilization of all available appointments for our patients in need of care.

Out of courtesy, it is expected that all patients will cancel their appointment prior to the day of the visit if they are unable to attend. 

In the event of an emergency when prior notice cannot be given, we will consider the circumstance, and an exception may be granted.

Please note, if you are more than 15 minutes late, we may need to reschedule. This could be considered a no show. 

Our aim is to provide convenient scheduling, especially for families with multiple children; however, in the event of a double well visit no-show, we may choose to restrict ability to schedule future back-to-back sibling well visits.

No show and same day cancellation visits will be handled in the following manner:

First Notification

First letter is sent to parent or guarantor when a patient’s appointment was either missed or canceled same day for the first time. If the appointment missed/canceled same day was for more than one child, a letter will be sent for each child as an individual occurrence

Second Notification

Second letter is sent to parent or guarantor when there is a second appointment missed or canceled same day. This letter is a notification that there could be a $50 fee charged in the future. If the appointment missed/canceled same day was for more than one child, a letter will be sent for each child as an individual second occurrence

Third Notification

Third letter is sent to parent or guarantor as a final notice that there were numerous missed appointments and there will be a $50 fee. If the appointment missed/canceled same day was for more than one child, a letter and $50 charge will be sent for each child. Dismissal from practice may be considered.