Pediatrician Thread?

lizgrace03 · August 2014

Has someone started a discussion about this yet? I was wondering if any of the STMs have advice about selecting a pediatrician. I have a recommendation for someone in my insurance network, but is it common practice to meet with the physicians first? Are they often willing to do this? Also, when do you contact the office to schedule an appointment? Do you wait until after LO is born?

NLJ82 · August 2014

This is probably a terrible mother answer, but I work at a dr's office with a pediatrician and all my bills are half off here O_o

I assume if the man is double booked every single day and has been practicing for 20 years, he can't be horrific, right? We'll see...

ANYWAY...at this office if you want to talk to or meet a provider, then you have to schedule an apt regardless so even if you want a meet and greet you're still going to be paying an office visit for your child. Not always the case, but usually. Typically everyone calls in for their baby's new pt apt when the baby is approx. 2 weeks old. Again, I have absolutely no idea since I have no kids or kids on either side of my family, this is just info I've gathered while working here

Good Luck!

NLJ82 · August 2014

lissydee said:

we met with ours prior to deciding to go with them--and that was free. It should not be a paid visit. You are employing them to take care of your kids and duh, as with anyone else seeking a job, they interview first. This is no different IMO (and FWIW I did the same when choosing a provider to go with for my pregnancies). That and we toured the office as well to get an idea of how they book their visits, how they separate well and sick children etc, how busy the office felt, how clean it was etc.

I totally agree with this. The dr that works here also does rounds periodically at our local hospital so half the time people have already met him right after delivery. For those that haven't...tough luck I guess? This practice must be cold hearted lol

Dana633 · August 2014

For my DS, I had to have a pediatrician before delivery. I actually had to list someone when I pre-admitted and the pediatrician I chose came to the hospital and checked DS out an hour or so after he was born.

sweetbabyrahe · August 2014

With DS, I asked local friends for recommendations and then looked for those that were in network and accepting new patients. I did some looking online first because I wanted a practice with multiple doctors and a wide availability of appointment times (the practice we chose has evening and Saturday same day sick appointments...so that has been greatly helpful as a full time working mom). I did schedule an appointment to meet the pedi we were recommended (it was not charged) and asked questions about appointment availability, opinions on breastfeeding, opinions on vaccines, etc. Also, I just wanted to get a first impression to see if I felt comfortable with him and he was approachable. We have been very happy with him since and will use him for this LO as well. As some pp said, we also had to give the name of our pedi at L&D and someone from the practice came and saw DS in the hospital.

mander82 · August 2014

20 minutes on Google, and a couple emails to my SIL. Pediatrician decided.

kstirton · August 2014

I heard this same thing, that one of the physician's will come check the baby while they are in the hospital so you will want to choose one before birth. A friend told me that my doctor's office should have a list of pediatrics offices that come to the hospital I'm delivering in. I plan to ask for it at my appointment next Thursday.

silverwings72 · August 2014

Anyone have Kaiser? How do they usually assign pediatricians?

ccam · August 2014

My OB gave me a list of recommended pedi, I spoke to a few friends and picked one. They needed our choice when I registered since the pedi saw DS in the hospital soon after birth. If I had not chosen one, they would have picked one for us. I did not do a meet and greet with them but I would think it would be an unpaid visit. I would definitely have that all situated since you see the pedi in the hospital multiple times and soon after you are discharged.

JustJainey · August 2014

I'm fascinated. Are most people going straight to a pediatrician? I always think of them as specialists, so am just planning to go with my GP unless there is some reason otherwise that develops down the road. I asked my GP when I first got pregnant and they told me they automatically take the baby as a patient. Not sure if this is a Cdn thing or just regional to me?

jaminjeff · August 2014

I asked at work because then I'd know who is covered by my insurance. I ended up finding a great pedi that way and I'm so glad I went with what everyone told me.

Just make sure you're on the same page about the important things, vacs, bfing vs ffing, etc.

sweetbabyrahe · August 2014

@JustJainey Might be a regional thing. In my area, most GP deal with primarily teenage and older. Their pediatric specific knowledge seems to be not as great. Most people in my area in Ohio choose a pediatrician for their children as there are so many issues specific to pediatric development that they have more knowledge of.

MrsDL · August 2014

A pediatrician is pretty much a GP for children. They refer out to pediatric specialists just like GPs. I'm sure it varies by area, the physician shortage (at least in the US) varies by region, but if I'm sick and it's not an emergency, my GP won't necessary make time for me that day. My pediatrician - no matter how insignificant the issue - if I feel I want DS seen, they will get him in that day. Kids come down with things not common in adults (and adults obviously have issues you don't see in children). I feel like a pedi is a little more on-top of American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations and depending on the practice size (mine is very large), you might find NPs that are specially credentialed in pediatrics and certified lactation consultants (my practice has one on staff full-time).

As for picking one, I have found the best route to be recommendations from friends and neighbors. That's how we found ours and I've been extremely happy. My practice does not do interviews - I was fine with making the first wellness appointment after I delivered to see if they were right for us. It was a good fit. Meet and greets are nice, they are becoming less common because there is a shortage of physicians. If a practice has a particularly exception reputation, they don't need the interview to be honest. They are spending their time doing what they should be - making sure you don't have to wait a long time past your scheduled appointment because they are running behind trying to impress possible new patients, getting your kid in same-day if you are concerned about anything, and calling you back right away when you have a question or concern. Even if you do get to meet first and decide later, you never really get a great sense, past the office appearance, of whether or not you like them, their treatment style, bedside manners, until you've had a few visits. So if you can visit ahead of time - great. If not, don't write a practice off. In certain areas the best practices won't meet with you outside an appointment - they don't need your business (as harsh as that seems). However once you are a patient - they normally always have time for you.

If you have a recommendation and they don't do visits/interviews, see if you can call and ask the following or find the info on their website:

Go on-line and look at their website - to they seem to be utilizing technology (on-line scheduling, CHADIS assessment on-line for wellness visits)? Do they have an EMR you have access to?

What hospital (if you have many in your area) do they admit to if necessary (their privileges). Is the office and hospital within a convenient distance to your home?

What are there hours (with kids - the more the better). I'm in a large practice (12 physicians, 4NPs - pediatric, one lactation consultant). They are open every day of the year except Christmas. The hours are 7:00 am to 4:30 pm and after hours (for emergencies/non-wellness from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm). There is a lot of comfort knowing if your child's fever is spiking, you can take them to be seen on a weekend, in the evening.

What is their policy on returning phone-calls. My practice - no more than 2 hours. It's nice to have a minor worry/concern, especially as a FTM when you may be clueless, and have somebody call you back in a reasonable amount of time (and not make you feel like an idiot for what will be a silly question in hindsight).

Do they allow the anti-vaccination crowd in the practice (mine does not)? Will they work with you on an alternate vaccination schedule if you request it? (mine will only do this if their is a medical reason for it). Does this whole philosophy mesh with your own?

Each practitioner should have a bio on a website if they have one.

Even for new patients, we just called to make an appointment after delivery. They set-up the appointment for the 2nd day home (then one week old). They asked if we wanted an appointment with he lactation specialist - I didn't have issues/questions at the time but I figured "why not!" in the 5 days home until that appointment I was jumping for joy I made one as I had so many questions.

You can also just do a Google of a doctor or the practice and see what reviews come-up - they are out there, but keep in mind people are more likely to post one bad experience than post comments about 100 great experiences so I always take those with a grain of salt. If you have an appointment and you don't get a good feeling or are immediately turned-off, go to another practice. It's a PIA but it's better to try and to you find the right fit than just stay at one because....

JustJainey · August 2014

@MrsDL - Wow, thanks for all the info.

Want a personalized experience?

Pediatrician Thread?

Re: Pediatrician Thread?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards