Pediatrician Question:

☛ Are you accepting new patients?
☛ How long have you been practicing?
☛ Why did you decide to become a pediatrician?
☛ Do you have any areas of specialty?
☛ What journals or other publications do you read regularly?
☛ How many children do you have?
☛ What are your office hours? Do you offer evening or weekend appointments?
☛ Do you offer same-day sick appointments? How far in advance do check-ups (“well baby/child visits”) need to be scheduled?
☛ What if my baby gets sick when the office is closed? Who covers in an emergency if you aren’t on call?
☛ Is this a solo or group practice? If it’s solo, who covers when you are gone? If it’s a group, how often will we see you, and how often will we see other members?
☛ Do you have separate sick and well waiting rooms?
☛ How long does a patient typically wait in the waiting room?
☛ How long does a patient typically wait in the exam room?
☛ On average, how long do you spend with each patient?
☛ Do you accept calls for routine and non-emergency questions? If I leave a message, how long does it usually take you to return the call?
☛ Do you respond to questions by e-mail?
☛ What hospitals do you work with?
☛ Do you take my insurance? Is there an extra charge for: 1) Advice calls during the day? 2) Advice calls after hours? 3) Medication refills? 4) Filling out forms? What other fees will apply?
☛ What tests are handled in the office, and what is done elsewhere? Where?
☛ What are your policies for insurance claims, lab policies, payments and billing?
☛ What is your schedule for well baby checkups? Are you comfortable with families who do not follow the recommended schedule?
☛ Are you familiar with the signs of sexual and other abuse?
☛ Have you ever felt one of your pediatric patients was being abused? If so, what did you do?