Policies

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics.

We educate families on appropriate use of antibiotics, but follow evidence-based guidelines and don’t automatically treat ear pain or a green snotty nose with antibiotics.

We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone as we do not believe that is good medicine. We will prescribe an antibiotic when we believe it is an appropriate treatment.

Efficiency through the 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.

1. As a parent or guardian, you are responsible for payments of all charges incurred on behalf of your child.
2. Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. These policies vary from company to company and it is your responsibility to understand the benefits and restrictions of your coverage including deductibles co-payments, in-network providers/facilities, prior authorizations required, etc. Please know your policy and contact our office with any questions you may have regarding services rendered.
3. As a parent or guardian, you are responsible for providing Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC with complete and accurate billing information including primary and secondary insurance (if applicable). If incorrect insurance information!·s provided at the time of service, Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC will not submit additional claims and you will be financially responsible for such claims.
4. If both parents have private insurances covering their child, the "birthday rule" will apply. This means that the insurance of the parent with the earlier birthday (month/day) will be considered primary, with the other being secondary.
5. Instances where you have both a state funded (e.g., Medicaid) and a private insurance, the private insurance will always be considered primary and the state insurance will be considered secondary.
6. It is your responsibility to contact your insurance company to clarify, secondary insurance information in cases where your bill has been put on hold or is unpaid due to coordination of benefits.
7. All fees are due at the time of service. Co-payments are determined by your insurance policy and are due at every visit including urgent, follow-up and/or preventative care. Co:-payments can be paid in the form of cash, check or credit/debit cards. If for any reason, you are unable to pay your co-payment at the time of service, an additional $15 billing fee will be automatically charged to your account
8. Any patient balances remaining unpaid for sixty (60) days will be considered delinquent. After 60 days, Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC will be able to see you only for sic visits and not for physical or shots until balances are paid. If a balance remains due for over ninety (9 ) days, the account will be considered seriously delinquent and will be reviewed for referral to a collection agency. No further appointments will be granted and the responsible person will be asked to seek medical care for their child elsewhere.
9. Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC cannot get involved in financial disputes related to divorce or separated parents. It is our policy that the parent who brings the child to the appointment Is responsible for payment at the time of service. We will not bill the non-representing parent. Balances due will be billed through the primary insurance on file.
10. Insurance companies require that we bill for all procedures rendered at the time of service. If your child is seen for a preventative/well-care visit, and acute/chronic condition are also addressed during that visit, we may be required to bill for those services separately. You will be responsible for payments of any balances as a result including co-payments, deductibles, etc., as determined by your insurance.
11. It is necessary for our practice to release medical and other relevant information to the billing agency and your insurance company for authorization and/or payment of healthcare services when submitting claims information to insurance companies.
12. Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC is willing to extend payment plan agreements to patients with special financial needs on a case by case basis. Each agreement is unique and personalized to each family's situation. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to contact the office for further discussion.
13. In the event of a lapse in insurance, Quakerbridge Pediatrics, PC will accommodate patients on a self-pay basis for thirty (30) days. During this period, we will see your child for urgent and preventative visits. After the conclusion of this period, we will no longer be able to provide services until your insurance coverage has been restored.
14. For any payment made in the form of a check, a $10 fee will be charged for any check returned from the bank unpaid.

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

• We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.
• We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.
• We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
• We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years. The United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2019, with 1282 cases from 31 states reported to CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that by not vaccinating your child, you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that a child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable. Even delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over additional visits goes against expert recommendations, is not supported by any scientific data, can lead to unnecessary delays and errors, and can put your child, other children, and adults at risk for serious illness (or even death). It is therefore against our medical advice as professionals at Quakerbridge Pediatrics.

At Quakerbridge Pediatrics we are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and to provide you with this notice of privacy practices. We also are required to abide by the privacy policies and practices that are outlined in this notice. As permitted by law, we reserve the right to amend or modify our privacy policies and practices. These changes in our policies and practices may be required by changes in federal and state law regulations. Whatever the reason for the revisions, we will provide you with a revised notice on your next office visit. The revised policies and practices will be applied to all protected health information that we maintain.

A. We may use and disclose your health information in the following ways.

1. Treatment: your health information may be used by staff members or disclosed to other healthcare professionals for the purpose of evaluating your health, diagnosing medical conditions, and providing treatment. For example, results of laboratory tests and procedures will be available in your medical record to all health professionals who may provide treatment or who may be consulted by staff members.

2. Payment: your health information may be used to seek payment from your health plan, from other sources or coverage such as an automobile insurer. For example, your health plan may request and receive information on dates of service, the services provided, and the medical condition being treated. You are required to provide this practice with all insurance (primary and secondary) coverage information, health, auto, and worker's compensation (if applicable), or discuss and provide an alternative method for providing payment for services to this practice.

3. Health care operations: your health information may be used as necessary to support the day-to-day activities and management of this practice. For example: measuring and improving quality of health care.

4. Law enforcement: your health information may be disclosed to law enforcement agencies, without your permission, to support government audits and inspections to facilitate law-enforcement investigations and to comply with government mandated reporting.

5. Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence: we are required by law to disclose medical information to appropriate authority if there is a possibility of child abuse, neglect or domestic violence.

6. Public health reporting: your health information may be disclosed to public health agencies as required by law. For example, we are required to report certain communicable diseases to the state's health department.

7. Other uses and disclosures require your authorization: disclosure of your health information or its use for any purpose other than those listed above requires your specific written authorization. If you change your mind after authorizing a use or disclosure of your information you may submit a written revocation of the authorization. However, your decision to revoke the authorization will not affect or undo any use or disclosure of information that occurred before you notified us of your decision.

8. Appointment reminder: your health information may be used to send you appointment reminders.

9. Information about treatments: your health information may be used to send you information on the treatment and management of your medical condition that you may find to be of interest.

B. Your rights under the federal privacy standards

The right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of your protected health information

The right to receive confidential communications concerning your medical condition and treatment

The right to inspect and copy your protected health information

The right to amend or submit corrections of your protected health information

The right to receive an accounting of how and to whom your protected health information has been disclosed other than treatment, payment and health care operations.

The right to receive a printed copy of this notice

The right to file a complaint. If you would like to submit a comment or complaint about our privacy practices, or suspect violation, you may do so by letter, outlining your concerns. Please address this correspondence to our privacy officer (Dr. Milan Kapadia, at 1 Nami lane, Suite 8, Hamilton NJ 08619

To obtain a copy of your protected health information, please complete a request to copy protected health information form from our office. We have contracted with Healthport copy co. so their copying fees will apply.

Everyone's Time is Equally Valuable.

We ask that you arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. We understand sometimes things happen beyond your control that may cause you to be late. However, we reserve the right to ask you to reschedule if you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment.

Our practice makes every effort to run on time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable.

Upcoming Appointments Via Phone/Text Message/Email

Missed Appointments: Broken appointments represent a cost to us, to you, and to other patients who could have been seen in the time set aside for you. We reserve the right to charge a fee for canceled or missed appointments. We request 24 hours notice for cancellation of appointments.

A fee may be charged for a second missed appointment. The third consecutive missed appointment will result in discharge from the practice.

For new patients, a fee may be charged if the FIRST appointment is missed.