Please take a moment to read our most commonly asked questions. We're always available to answer your questions and encourage you to contact our office if you have a question that is not answered below.
Q: What is a Pediatrician?
A: A pediatrician is a medical doctor who specializes in the care of children. Pediatricians have undergone special training in the health and illnesses of infants, teens and young adults, and the majority of pediatricians are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics after passing a comprehensive exam.
Pediatricians provide preventive health care for children in good health and medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill. They also provide parents with support and advice with issues such as growth and development, safety and prevention, nutrition, and emotional wellness to foster a lifetime of good health.
Q: Why should I choose a Primary Care Provider for my child?
Healthlychildren.org explains:
Pediatricians are trained to:
- Help you determine healthy lifestyles for your child and useful ways to role model your choices.
- Offer advice to prevent illness and injuries.
- Provide early and appropriate care of acute illness to prevent its progression.
- Treat life-threatening childhood conditions requiring intensive care.
- Guide you in anticipating your child's needs from newborn to 21.
As part of their extensive training, pediatricians are experienced in the physical, emotional, and social development of children. Children may be too young or shy to talk so pediatricians understand the importance of listening carefully to your child, and to you. Pediatricians answer your questions, helping you to understand and promote your child's healthy development. Pediatricians also address issues affecting a child's family and home environment.
Q: Can I meet my pediatrician before my baby is born?
A: Yes, in fact we strongly encourage parents-to-be to visit our office for a prenatal appointment. This is a great way to get acquainted with our office and our doctors. During this visit, we will answer any questions that you have about our practice or your new child. Visit our expectant parent's page for more information.
Q: How do I register as a new patient with your office?
Visit our New Pediatric Patients page for all the details and forms about how you can become a patient of our practice.
Q: How often should my child see the pediatrician?
A: Your child should not only see the pediatrician for an illness. It is also important to schedule well-child-care exams regularly, beginning in infancy. Also called well-care visits or checkups, these routine examinations provide the best opportunity for the doctor to observe the progress of your child's physical and mental growth and development; to counsel and teach parents; to detect problems through screening tests; to provide immunizations, and to get to know one another. Well-care visits are strongly recommended as part of preventive pediatric care.
Well-child visits are also a good time for parents to raise questions and concerns about a child's development, behavior, nutrition, safety and overall well-being.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this schedule for routine well-care visits:
- 3 to 5 days
- 1 month
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 12 months
- 15 months
- 18 months
- 24 months
- 3 years
- 4 years
- And once every year thereafter for an annual health supervision visit that includes a physical exam as well as a developmental, behavioral, and learning assessment.
Q: What is the best way to schedule an appointment with your office?
A: You can schedule an appointment by calling our office during regular business hours, by requesting an appointment online through our secure patient portal (go to our Patient PORTAL page for more details)
Q: What insurance(s) does your office accept?
A: Plattsburgh Primary Care Pediatrics strives to provide medical services to all patients, regardless of insurance type or payment source, in accordance with their financial policy (available for download here). A complete list of participating insurances is available in our Buisiness Office. Please call them at 518-562-0151 or ask to see the list at your next visit.
Q: Is your office accepting new patients?
A: Yes, we welcome new patients. Contact our office for additional information or request an appointment. * Age restrictions for new patients may apply. Please contact the office for additional information or to request an appointment.
Q: Why does my child need to receive vaccinations?
A: Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help ward off serious, and potentially fatal, childhood diseases. Making sure your child receives immunizations when scheduled is the best way to help protect your child from potentially fatal diseases. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. If you're apprehensive about vaccinations, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Q: What is a Patient PORTAL?
A: Portals are free, secure, electronic sites that hold patient information. Use of the portal offers convenient access to portions of your childs medical chart (up to age 13):
- Upcoming appointments
- Medical Conditions
- Medication list
- Lab & Test results
- Immunizations
The portal is also a convenient way to:
- Request appointments
- Request Medication Refills
- Receive reminders
- Download and complete various forms
- Pay your bill
PCHP will NEVER sell your email address to ANYONE nor send you junk mail!
Registration is easy. All you need to do is call the office for your access code or wait until your next visit and it will be provided to you. NYS prohibits the utilization for patient Portals by parents/guardians for all patients at or over the age of 13. Patients at or above 18 years of age, may request access to their own records via this patient PORTAL.
For more detail and information regarding our patient portal, click Patient PORTAL
Q: When should my child transition from pediatrics to adult or family medicine?
Transitioning from pediatric medicine to adult or family medicine requires a discussion with your child's pediatrician (maybe even more than 1) Start the conversation with your child and their pediatrician around age 16 or 17 to help reduce the stress and anxiety!
Q: Where can I get affordable insurance for my child?
New York State is offering a new health plan called The Essential Plan.
What is it? A new health plan for New Yorkers. It costs much less than other health plans and offeres the same essential benefits.
Who can buy it? Lower income people who don't qualify for Medicaid or Child Health Plus (CHP).
How can it save you money? No Deductible and FREE preventive care!
What does the Essential Plan cover?
- Doctor visits (primary care and specialty physicians)
- Tests (labs, imaging etc)
- Prescription drugs
- Inpatient and outpatient hospital care
How can I get more information?
- go to www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov
- call 1-855-355-5777 or TTY 1-800-662-1220
Q: How can I acquire my childs latest physical and vaccination record?
A: The Patient Portal is the best way to acquire these documents. It is easily assessable and FREE! All one would need is a printer. Another way to receive those documents is by stopping by our office and asking our business office to print them out for a fee. If you are not the parent or guardian of the patient Plattsburgh Primary Care Pediatrics cannot release the information to you. If the child is over 18 he/she will need to sign a release authorizing an individual to have access to their personal health information.
IF YOU DON'T SEE THE QUESTION YOU WANT ANSWERED HERE, PLEASE REFER TO THE FAQs FROM HEALTHCHILDREN.ORG