Genesis Pediatrics Blog
Physical season approaches!
Just a reminder, as we approach physical season, to make sure you check with your insurance to see if your physicals are covered once per calendar year or once per 365 days. We do not have this info on our end, so it is your responsibility to check and schedule appropriately!
Text 4 Baby
Saw an interesting program today available to new parents (or expecting parents). Called “Text4baby”, you sign up and it sends you texts during pregnancy and through the first year of life with health and baby care tips.
You can sign up here: Text 4 baby website
Or by texting “BABY” to 511411
School physicals… plan ahead!
We believe it is important for a child’s health that we see them yearly for a physical exam. School physicals are also required in NYS for children in grades K, 2, 4, 7, and 10, and yearly for anyone playing sports. These are good for 360 days and do not have to be done in the summertime. To avoid the summer rush, we suggest you bring your child in in the month of their birthday. That will help to spread out our physical exams and decrease the wait time for summer physical appointments.
Payment on day of visit policy
FYI, we’ve made some changes to our payment policies in regards to payment due at the time of your visit, as follows:
- Effective 1/1/12, high deductible plans now require a $25.00 payment at time of service.
- HMO and Hybrid plans require that the co-pay is made at time of service.
- Government plans do not require a payment at time of service.
If you have any questions, please call the office and ask to speak with one of our billing specialists, they will be more than happy to assist you.
Holiday hours
Here’s our holiday office hours:
Christmas Eve (Sat 12/24) – open 8am to 12 Noon
Christmas Day (Sun 12/25) – Closed
Christmas (Observed) (Mon 12/26) – Closed
New Year’s Eve (Sat 12/31) – open 8am to 12 Noon
New Year’s Day (Sun 1/1) – Closed
New Year’s Day (Observed) (Mon 1/2) – Closed
Have a happy and safe holiday!
Tuesday hours change
FYI we will be closed from 11:30 to 2pm tomorrow (Tues 12/20) for our annual staff Christmas Luncheon.
It’s physical exam season? In winter?
It’s ALWAYS physical exam season!
Most people think of winter as cold and flu season, and don’t ever think about scheduling a physical exam. It used to be, when the physical had to be 90 days before the start of school, that kids would come for their exams around their birthday when young, but would eventually shift to the summertime when they hit school age. However, now by NYS law a school physical exam form is good for 360 days. So we are encouraging people to keep their children’s exams in the month of their birthday. It will help you to avoid the summer crunch, and hopefully eventually make the summer crunch go away for good!
Being the wonderful, delightful, popular, amazing office that we are does come with a downside – we’re busy! So plan ahead! Calling about three months ahead to schedule that physical will ensure that you have your best chance of getting a day and time that will work for you.
Thanksgiving hours
Our office hours for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday are as follows:
Wednesday 11/23: 8am to 3pm
Thursday 11/24 (Thanksgiving): Closed
Friday 11/25: 8am to 3pm
Saturday 11/26: 8:30am to Noon
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Abbreviated office hours Monday
This Monday (Halloween), we will be closing at 6pm (instead of the usual 8pm). We find not many kids want to admit to being sick on that day anyway! (I wonder why…)
Time for flu shot clinics!
We are prepared to start our flu shot clinics. Please feel free to call the office during regular office hours if you are interested in getting a flu shot for your child. This is for all insurances, for all children ages 6 months and up, and both shots and flumist are available. Flumist recipients must not have a history of asthma or wheezing. These are nurse-only visits, for flu shots only; if you have concerns or are due for other shots you need a regular office visit.
