66 Mount Lucas Road, Princeton, NJ 08540-2733, USA
tel 609-924-4892, fax 609-921-9380
(Please bookmark this page for future reference)
Mark B. Levin, M.D., F.A.A.P.
John M. Cotton, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Timothy J. Patrick-Miller, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Louis J. Tesoro, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Helen M. Rose, M.D., F.A.A.P.
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Dr. Levin: levin@pedgroup.com
Dr. Cotton: cotton@pedgroup.com
Dr. Patrick-Miller: pmiller@pedgroup.com
Dr. Tesoro: tesoro@pedgroup.com
Dr. Rose: rose@pedgroup.com
Billing: billing@pedgroup.com
Information: information@pedgroup.com
We are happy to answer any general questions about medical topics and about our practice. We can answer specific questions only regarding patients who are currently enrolled in our practice.
Welcome to our practice. We are pleased you have chosen us for your Pediatric care. We look forward to a lasting and happy relationship with your family We have prepared this brochure to help you become acquainted with us and with our way of practicing. Please add this page tp your bookmarks (favorites folder) for future reference.
Which Doctor Should I See, Telephone Calls and Early Appointments, Office Hours, After Hours Emergencies, Sundays and Holidays, Fever and Pain Treatment, Doses, Poisoning, Bleeding, Burns, Health Maintenance Examinations, Continuity of Care, Foreign Travel, Fees, Bills
Which Doctor Should I See? When you call for an appointment, the receptionist will ask which doctor you would like to see. We regard every family in the practice as patients of us all. We endeavor to handle any particular problem in a fashion consistent with each other's approach. Please feel comfortable with any of the doctors whenever a problem arises with your child. We realize that many parents will have a preference for one or another of us and will respect it whenever possible. If the doctor you prefer is unavailable, the receptionist will so inform you and will suggest one of the other doctors. You may then elect to arrange an appointment or to await the return of the doctor you prefer. No ill child in our practice who should be seen will be refused.
Telephone Calls and Early Appointments One or more of the doctors answers our office telephone (609-924-4892) from 8 to 9 a.m. every day of the year, including Sundays and holidays. During this time, you can make appointments for sick children, as well as obtain immediate answers to your questions. Calling close to 8 a.m. will usually enable you to arrange an illness related visit for early in the morning. In no case is care of a seriously ill child delayed. If other questions arise during the day, or you would like a longer telephone consultation, call us during office hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday). We will return your call as soon as we can. In many instances our trained staff will be able to help you with your problems. When calling, please state your child's name and age.
Office Hours Regular office hours are by appointment 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Each doctor is usually away one day during the week. If the doctor you prefer to see is away, please feel comfortable with any other doctor in our group. Our appointment time and your time are valuable. We try to maintain as precise a schedule as possible for all of our appointments. We ask you to arrive on time or, preferably, a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time. We may have to reschedule non-emergency appointments if you arrive late. If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call to cancel it at least 24 hours in advance. We will have to charge a fee for missed, uncanceled appointments. Although check-up appointments can be arranged on short notice, by calling well in advance (3-4 weeks) a patient can usually select the doctor, day and time he or she prefers. We close the office between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.. Please please do not appear for allergy or other routine injections between 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. or after 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or after 11 a.m. on Saturday.
After Hours Emergencies One of us is always available and can arrange for care for your child in an emergency. Our phone is covered by answering service from the end of office hours to late evening. The telephone operators are instructed to hold messages until we call for them each hour. However, they can always reach us immediately in an emergency. If your child is urgently ill or injured, call us (609-924-4892) and state that it is an emergency. During office hours, a doctor will be called to the phone immediately. After hours, the answering service will contact the doctor on-call immediately. The doctor can arrange an appropriate time and place for an examination. It is always better to telephone first before transporting a child to an emergency facility. Just showing up generally entails a more costly visit and a longer wait for service than a pre-arranged visit with us. If we are unable to meet you in the emergency facility, we will guide the emergency room staff in the care of your child and will provide any necessary follow-up care. IN ANY INSTANCE OF A LIFE-THREATENING PROBLEM, YOUR FIRST CALL SHOULD BE TO YOUR LOCAL RESCUE SQUAD at 911 .
OVER NIGHT, THE ON-CALL DOCTOR PERSONALLY ANSWERS THE PHONE FROM HOME. Please do not call then unless your child has an urgent problem. Please avoid after hours calls about problems that can be best handled during office hours when our staff and facilities are available. The fee for visits outside of office hours and Sunday and Holiday visits is greater than that for visits during regular office hours .
Sundays and Holidays At least one doctor is available in the office for sick children every Sunday and holiday (New Year's, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving and Christmas) morning. If you feel your child should be examined on a Sunday or a holiday, please call early in the morning, preferably during telephone hour (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.). The fee for visits outside of office hours and Sundays and holidays is greater than that for visits during regular office hours.
Fever and Pain Treatment Fever is part of a person's immune response to infection. It is not necessary to treat a fever unless a child is very uncomfortable with it. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are medications that can relieve discomfort from fever or injury.
The dose of acetaminophen is 0.4 ml of infant drops or 1/2 of an 80 mg chewable or 1/4 teaspoon of children's syrup per 10 pounds of body weight, given every 4 hours as needed. The maximum dose is 8 of the 80 mg chewables or 4 teaspoons of the children's syrup for a weight of 140 pounds or more.
The dose of ibuprofen is 1.25 ml of children's drops or 2.5 ml of children's suspension or 1 (50 mg) chewable or ½ of a junior tablet per 10 pounds of body weight for children over 6 months of age given every 6 hours as needed. The maximum dose is 8 teaspoons of children's suspension or 8 junior tablets or 16 (50 mg) chewable tablets or 4 tablets of 200 mg for a weight of 176 pounds or more. Unless instructed differently, use one or the other of these medications, not both. DO NOT USE ASPIRIN for chicken pox or influenza. If you are unsure of what to do, please call. Sponge bathing with tepid water for 20 to 30 minutes is a valuable mode of fever control.
Poisoning If you call about a poisoning, regardless of the time of day, please tell the person answering the phone that the call concerns a poisoning. If, for some reason, you can not reach us, call the National Poison Control Center: 1-800-222-1222.
Bleeding If your child is bleeding from a cut, the best way to stop it is to use direct pressure. First press the bleeding wound directly against the adjacent bone firmly for at least six to ten minutes. When the bleeding stops, cover the cut with a clean dressing and call us. Lacerations that require repair should be done when the wound is fresh (within 12 hours). If the nose is bleeding from the inside, pinch the fleshy part of the nostrils between your thumb and index finger for at least 6 minutes. If the bleeding recurs, call us.
Burns For a small area (less surface area than the size of a quarter-dollar), immerse immediately in cold (not ice) water for 20 minutes and then leave open to the air. Use acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain (see above for doses). Call our office at the time of the burn for instructions. For larger burns, apply cool water and call our office immediately.
Health Maintenance Examinations We evaluate newborns monthly for the first five months, then at 7, 9, 12, 15, 18 24, 30 and 36 months of age. When a child passes his third birthday, examinations are yearly. As children near the age at which school and camp examinations are needed, we suggest scheduling the annual examination near his or her birthday. This prevents an excessively tight schedule which we encounter June through September. A birthday also serves as a reminder that an examination is due. Physical examination forms usually can be filled out for the year based on this examination. Please call after 10 a.m. 1 to 3 months in advance to schedule appointments so that you may reserve the doctor and time of your choice. These visits include assessment of physical, psychosocial and educational development, nutritional counseling, anticipatory guidance and any pertinent laboratory evaluation and vaccines. There is ample opportunity to ask questions. Any problem areas identified can be addressed at that time, or at an extended office consultation. We are comfortable dealing with our patients through college graduation. We encourage teens to continue health maintenance visits to monitor physical development and growth, adolescent psychological and social development, blood pressure, dermatologic problems, etc.
Continuity of Care As a general philosophy of practice, we feel that obtaining a child's maintenance care at a facility different from where acute care is delivered deprives the child of the benefits of allowing the doctors at any one facility to become familiar with the child's overall health status. Likewise, splitting care between offices and various emergency facilities also impedes execution of adequate competent follow up. We prefer that all of a child's care be done through one practice. We are aggressive in seeking consulting opinions when it is in the child's best interest.
Foreign Travel Please notify us of foreign travel at least 8 weeks in advance to allow time for proper immunization and preparedness. Foreign travel health care information and procedures for disease prevention are available upon request. Please see our Preventative Information for Travelers brochure and our article Taveling With Kids for a packing list and other helpful information.
Fees We regard our fees as reasonable and in keeping with the costs of providing superior service. If you have any question about our fees, please feel free to discuss them with us. We prefer that you pay at the time service is rendered. We will provide you with a receipt that can be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement. Upon request, we will provide an insurance breakdown that you can attach to your completed insurance form for newborn care, emergency room care and any inpatient hospital care that we may render to your child. Please save all receipts for income tax or insurance purposes. Our independence of any insurance plans allows us to provide care appropriate to the child's needs
Bills Our billing system cycle, for those who are unable to pay when services are rendered, ends about the 20th of each month. Bills are due when received. Please advise us of any financial difficulty you may have so that we can work with you and prevent misunderstandings.
We anticipate a rewarding relationship with your family for the purpose of offering your child(ren) the best possible care.
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