What to bring to the first visit
If your insurance requires a referral (most HMOs do), please make sure it is current.
For your first visit, it is helpful to have previous medical records including lab results,
X-rays, and growth charts available for us to review.
For patients who have been referred to our clinic for growth and/or pubertal development. It will be important that a hard copy (computer disk) of the bone age x-ray be obtained by the parent(s) and brought to the appointment for the physician to review the images.
What to expect at the visit
Upon arrival at our office, you will be asked to complete some forms to obtain
information about address, phone numbers, insurance information etc. Then your child will
be “checked in”, which entails measuring the height, weight, and vital signs.
You will be put in an exam room, where we will see you. We will take a complete medical
history, followed by a detailed physical examination. In the case of adolescents your child
may be given the option of asking you to leave the room to afford him/her some privacy if
he/she so desires. This will be your child’s decision.
We will decide if your child needs further testing, which may entail blood, and/or urine
tests and/or X-rays. The blood is most often drawn at our office by us. The X-rays can be
taken in house, and in most cases will be read by us.
If you would like results of tests done at your visit, please call us in 10 days. If we are
busy seeing patients, please leave a message and we will try to call you by the end of the
day. If we are away, and you are seeking results of a simple test, our nurse may be able to
give you the result immediately. If the test is more complex and requires interpretation,
the physician or nurse practitioner will call you when they return. We make every effort to
call you with abnormal results.
The visits are usually 1 hour for the initial visit and 20-30 minutes for the follow-up
visits. Please schedule your follow-up visits in advance, because the schedule fills up fast.
Reading material is available for some of the endocrine disorders, and we will be glad to
make this material available to you.
Please note that co-payments are expected at the time of the visit. The office does
accept credit cards for payment. We also accept cash or checks. If a check bounces, there
will be a $40.00 re-billing fee.