Pediatric Associates of Austin, P.A.
Important Financial Information
Value Added Service Fee
Value Added Service FAQ Testimonials Fee Agreement and Payment Forms
January 25, 2010
Dear Families,
We are so pleased that you have selected Pediatric Associates of Austin for your child’s healthcare needs. It is a very rewarding experience for us to provide healthcare services to your child and we are honored that you have chosen to trust your child to us. We cherish our relationship with you and hope that you find expertise and consistent quality in the services that we provide.
In March 2005, there was a change in our practice. After completing an assessment of our practice costs, we determined that there are certain things we do related to customer service that are not covered by insurance. We want to personally know your child, not just your child’s name. By having enough time with you at your visit, we feel that we can provide you with the best care. Rather than reduce or eliminate the services and quality that you expect, we have determined that the survival of our organization would require that we initiate an annual fee to cover these costs. This annual fee goes into effect March 1st of each year.
Please note: (A prorated rate will apply for new patients after 2/28/10. As a new patient to the practice, we want you to be certain that you will be 100% satisfied with the benefit of our value-added services. If you decide, within your first year, to transfer your records to another practice physician, we will cheerfully refund your money.)
This is what it will cost: *
1 child $115 per year ($103.50, if paid in full within 30 days of becoming a patient)
2 children $220 per year ($198.00, if paid in full within 30 days of becoming a patient)
3+ children $250 per year ($225.00, if paid in full within 30 days of becoming a patient)
What you get for the annual fee:
- Medical care is provided by Board Certified Pediatricians.
- All office treatments, vaccines and other injectables are administered by pediatric nurses and not medical assistants trained for injections.
- In-house lab and x-ray is available at your convenience with “while you wait” results.
- Finger-stick technology used whenever possible—outside labs such as Clinical Pathology Labs do not use finger-stick technology but rather collect blood by venipuncture (out of the arm).
- When special lab tests are required that are outside the scope of in-office lab services, we will attempt to do blood collection for you and send it out rather than having you travel to Clinical Pathology for collection.
- Our own pediatric nurses available during regular business hours for advice for free and available after hours for a nominal fee. As always, the on-call physician supports them.
- Urgent care appointments available Saturday & Sunday mornings.
For your convenience, we opened AFTER HOURS KIDS in November, 2008. The clinic is available for patients who are sick but who do not require a trip to the emergency room. For patients who pay the value-added service fee by April 1st, we will waive the $50 convenience fee for one visit, per family, in 2010.
Why is this valuable? By design, our office limits the number of appointments per hour to ensure an unhurried setting where your child can receive prompt attention. By using more experienced people to provide medical and support services, we reduce the risk of medical error while improving patient satisfaction. Our goal is to reduce stress on you, limit your child’s discomfort and ultimately save you money and time.
Here’s how you benefit:
Every time our daytime nurse can give you advice, instructions or refill a prescription without an office visit, you save the cost of a co-pay, your time, and transportation.
Every time our weekend sick appointments save you a trip to the Emergency Room, you save your co-pay, most likely between $100 and $200.
Every time our convenient in-house lab and x-ray saves you time away from work, you save money.
Every time your doctor can make the correct diagnosis the first time because the lab and x-ray are right here, you pay only one co-pay.
The value added service fee will help to preserve your choice for care. We hope you agree.
If you have further questions, please call Laurie Serafine, Practice Administrator or Janet Morford, Office Manager at 458-5323.
The Doctors and Staff of Pediatric Associates of Austin
*If you are experiencing a financial hardship, please contact our office manager at 458-5323. We have received a donation from one of our families and Pediatric Associates has matched it to assist others who are not financially able to pay or who may need some assistance.