Policies & Forms
Learn about the policies that help us provide your children with the very best of care.
Forms &
DownloadsBilling &
InsuranceAppointment
PoliciesAfter-Hours CareVaccination
PolicyRefills &
Referrals
DownloadsBilling &
InsuranceAppointment
PoliciesAfter-Hours CareVaccination
PolicyRefills &
Referrals
Office Forms & Downloads
You can complete our new patient forms online through our patient portal, or you can download them here to print, complete, and return.
Financial Forms
Release & Consent Forms
School Forms
Billing & Insurance
We are committed to providing the best possible care and service to you, and appreciate your understanding of your financial responsibilities as an essential part of your child’s care. If you have any questions concerning these policies, please contact our office.
It is Your Responsibility
- To know the limits and coverage of your particular health insurance policy.
- To show your insurance cards to us at each visit.
- To pay any copays or deductibles at the time of service.
Our billing staff will do their best to assist you with insurance questions; however, if you have questions about your coverage, it is best to check with your specific insurance company.
Accepted Insurance
- Azalea Pediatrics accepts most major insurance plans, including Georgia Medicaid and Tricare. Please verify with your insurance that we are in-network.
At this time, we do NOT accept Alabama Medicaid or Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia High Performance Network Plan.
As we are a new practice, we will be adding insurances over time, so feel free to check with our office to see if we plan to take your insurance in the near future.
Insurance
As a courtesy to our patients, we will gladly file the forms necessary so that you receive the full benefits of your medical coverage. If your insurance company denies coverage, or we otherwise do not receive payment 90 days from filing your claim, the amount will then become due and payable by you.
Remember that your coverage is a contract between you and your insurance company and/or your employer and your insurance company. Although we will make a good faith effort to assist you in obtaining your benefits, we cannot force your insurance company to pay for the services we have provided to you.
Copayments and Deductibles
Depending on your insurance policy, a copayment and/or deductible or coinsurance may be required at the time of service.
Payment may be made in cash, by check or by credit card.
Self-Pay/Non-Covered Expenses
We are happy to work with families that prefer to pay directly for services or do not have insurance. For such patients, a time-of-service discount will be applied to the bill if settled in full on the day of service. This discount does not apply after the day of the visit.
The same discount will be applied to any non-covered charges for patients with insurance, if paid at the time of service.
Appointments & Office Visits
We make every effort to meet the needs of our patients by offering preventative well child visits, as well as same-day urgent care appointments when at all possible. Please contact the office to schedule a visit. Appointments are required.
Late Appointments
In order to ensure our patients are seen in a timely manner, please arrive to your appointment at least 5 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, we may need to reschedule you in order to ensure our patients are seen in as timely a manner as possible.
Cancellations
We require at least 24-hour notice on all cancellations. As a courtesy to our patients, we attempt to confirm all appointments. We do recognize that situations arise that are out of your control; however, it is imperative that you contact our office immediately to notify us of your cancellation in a timely manner.
Cancellations with less than 24-hour notice will be counted as a no show. Three or more no shows may result in dismissal from the practice.
After-Hours Care
For true emergencies please call 911 or go immediately to the hospital.
Phone Calls
Dr. Brown can take emergency calls from home after hours. You can call the main office number and select the emergency after hours option.
You may be assessed a $25 fee for non-urgent calls. This fee is not covered by your insurance and is your responsibility.
Resources
- Please see our medication dosage calculator and this symptom checker from the AAP. Both these tools provide valuable information.
- Most insurances have a nurse on call for questions. This number is usually on the back of your insurance card. We have several listed below.
- You may send a message through our patient portal that will be dealt with during the next business day. We provide same-day appointments for sick visits, if needed. Please call the office ASAP to be added to the schedule,
After hours insurance numbers:
Aetna 880-556-1555
Ambetter 877-687-1180
Amerigroup 800-600-4441
Anthem Blue Cross 888-724-2583 (BLUE)
Caresouce 866-206-9599
Cigna 800-564-9529
Humana 800-622-9529
Kaiser 404-261-2825, option 1
Peachstate 800-704-1484
United Healthcare 877-861-3861
Tricare 800-874-2273
Urgent Care
While we would prefer to keep your child’s non-emergency sick visits in office, we understand that this is not always possible. There is a pediatric urgent care in town with trained pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners.
- Crossroads Pediatric Acute Care
(706) 507-4995
5120 Warm Springs Road
Columbus, GA
Emergency Room
Piedmont Midtown Pediatric ER
710 Center Street
Columbus, GA 31901
Poison Control
For ingestions, please contact Poison Control at (800) 222-1222 and follow their instructions. There is no fee for their services.
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Vaccines save lives.
Azalea Pediatrics is an evidence-based pediatric office and as such we know that vaccinations are one of the most vital things you can do to protect your child from multiple serious infectious diseases throughout their lifetime.
Only patients who are fully vaccinated per the CDC recommended schedule will be accepted at Azalea Pediatrics. Delayed and/or alternative schedules are not accepted.
For those patients currently delayed, they may discuss a catch-up schedule with Dr. Brown. If new vaccines are developed or new recommendations are made on existing vaccines, then we will begin doing catch-up vaccinations on older children who have not already received the newly recommended vaccine.
New patients without an updated registry in the Georgia Immunization database are required to provide immunization records prior to scheduling their first appointment.
Newborns must have received Vitamin K in the newborn nursery to be accepted as a patient. Hepatitis B may be given in the nursery or at their first newborn appointment in the office.
Resources
- Immunization ScheduleCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Vaccine Information StatementsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Vaccine Safety: The FactsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- VaccinateYourFamily.orgHelping to protect people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases
- Institute for Vaccine SafetyJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Immunize.orgFormerly Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
- Vaccine Education CenterChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia
Prescription Refills
Most medications prescribed will be sent with the necessary refills to last until your next scheduled appointment. For medications that are not, you can request refills by calling the office or sending a portal request. Please allow at least 2 business days for your refill to be sent. Medications will not be called in after hours.
Specialist Referrals
Most referrals will require an appointment. Many issues can be managed by our office and a referral may not be necessary. Also, most pediatric specialists require an office visit note to accompany your referral.
We also require that your child be current on their annual wellness exam in order to ensure we have a full picture of your child’s health. When a referral is sent, you will be notified via your portal account with the specialist information included. While some referrals can be handled locally in Columbus, some may need to be sent to the larger children’s hospitals and specialty groups in Macon or Atlanta.