Practice Information
Appointment Availability
My office schedule keeps at least half of the first and last hours of every day open for “same day sick” appointments, and we also leave slots scattered through the schedule for urgent care.
In general, either leaving a message on voice mail for us to hear when the office first opens in the morning, or calling in the morning, will allow you to obtain a same day sick appointment for your child.
There are many time slots available for advance booking, for check-ups and follow-ups, and for the occasional “shot-only” visits.
Some times are kept until the actual day for high-risk patients to have as first-choice. These are the youngest infants and children who have a chronic illness making them especially at risk from germs from other office visitors. This is my way of trying to protect the most vulnerable children, despite the fact that we have only one waiting room for everyone.
During the week, we are open past 5pm on two nights, and we are also open most Saturday mornings. (See also Contact Information & Office Hours.)
After-Hours Care
I offer extended office hours to try to accommodate parents who prefer routine or sick appointments after 5pm weekdays, or a weekend appointment. And for national holidays like Memorial Day or Columbus Day, the office is open on the Saturday morning of the long weekend.
When the office is closed, there is always telephone availability, and sometimes I might meet you in the office after-hours, too.
Only self refer to an ER or call 911 if it is a real emergency and you can't afford to wait to talk to me or my covering physician or nurse in a few minutes. An ER doctor is trained to deal with medical emergencies, and is better trained and equipped to deal with situations such as: acute trauma (a laceration or an acutely distressed car accident victim), severe breathing difficulty (a known asthmatic, severe croup), or infection with shock.
Therefore I urge parents either to leave a message on voice mail for a call back when the office is next open, if you think it is safe to wait that long, or to take the time to page me or my covering provider if you need help when the office is closed.
If you have a block on your line, please take it off when paging me, as my telephone number will be “blind” to your caller id.
If you don’t get a call back within 30 minutes, please call again. If you forgot to take a block off your line, the operator will explain that to you. Sometimes the operator takes down a number incorrectly; I am moving through an area with no cell phone service; or I am with a sick child.
Insurances Accepted
I accept most major medical insurance, including:
Aetna, Anthem, Benefit Planned Management, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Boston Medical Center HealthNet*, Children's Medical Security Plan, Cigna, Commonwealth PPO, ConnectiCare, Consolidated, Diversified, ERN, Fortis, GEHA/PPO, GIC, Health Management Center, London Health Administrators, Health New England, Mass Mutual Preferred Plus, Medicare, North American Preferred, Northeast Direct, Northeast Healthcare Alliance, One Health Plan, Pioneer, Private Healthcare Systems/Group Administrators, Tricare, Tufts, Unicare Classic, and United HealthCare PPO
* MassHealth members are able to request a change to BMC HealthNet by calling member services (see the back of your card).
Please ask if yours is not on this list or bring in your card, so my staff or I can determine whether I am in-network with your plan.
