Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

I do always call an office if I am running late. I understand that me running late pushes the Dr's schedule behind & they may turn me away but a member fee is ridiculous. I'd move on.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

A fee to be a patient of a practice? I definitely don't think that is "normal practice". I do pay an annual fee of $40 to DD's pediatrician which is voluntary -- in return I get unlimited forms filled out for school, camp, daycare, etc. within 48 hours and prescriptions electronically sent to the pharmacy. If you choose not to pay the fee, its $20 for every form they have to fill out and they give you a paper prescription for medicines.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Message edited 2/23/2017 3:51:03 PM.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

I've never heard of an annual patient fee and wouldn't pay that. I think almost every office I go to has a posted policy that if you're 15 minutes late, they have the option to reschedule your appointment. If I'm running more than 5 minutes late I usually call, but I'd still expect to be seen if I was 8 minutes late. I also think the office could've sent you a bill for the fee instead of insisting that you pay on the spot. I'd probably look for another doctor.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

We don't have a yearly fee. They do ask to reschedule if you are late. I don't recall the cutoff, but it's 10 or 15 minutes.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Under all these circumstances, is it even ethical to not see a sick patient that's sitting in your office?

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Posted by LuckyStar

Posted by MrsM84

A fee to be a patient of a practice? I definitely don't think that is "normal practice". I do pay an annual fee of $40 to DD's pediatrician which is voluntary -- in return I get unlimited forms filled out for school, camp, daycare, etc. within 48 hours and prescriptions electronically sent to the pharmacy. If you choose not to pay the fee, its $20 for every form they have to fill out and they give you a paper prescription for medicines.

If you're in NYS, paper prescriptions no longer exist.

Save your $40 going forward

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Ridiculous

I would find a new doctor

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

That is completely crazy. Not only weird that they couldn't work you in after being just a few minutes late, but the annual fee is totally bizarre. I have never heard of such a thing, and it's a huge turn off. I'd leave the practice over that. And tell them why.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Hell no... just no. Get rid of that doctor...asap

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

This is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. I left a primary Dr because he started asking us to pay a $2.00 administration fee each time we went. It wasn't the $2.00, it was the principal of it.


I'd love to know who your Pediatrician is (or was), care to share?

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

so I knew about the fee and I'm oKay with it because the practice offers other things I like ( it's a holistically minded practice, which is importent to me) I was upset because they didn't want to see me if I didn't pay that day ( didn't realize it was due ) and because they wouldn't see me due to being 8 minutes late.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

A fee is not standard. We do pay $40/year for unlimited filling forms otherwise it's $20 per form.

That being said, has your Dr always been on time and you never had to wait ever? Because if she/he did, I would have a major issue if they could not wait for me for a few minutes once and it is not a regular occurrence.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Many of my doctors have a 15 minute rule. I do not think this rule applies at my DS' pediatrician. I remember when he was a newborn, we were late to an appointment (he was a nursing maniac!) and they still saw us.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

My first reaction was ... hell no. But realistically, I know how hard it is to find a doctor you love so if you LOVE your pediatrician, I'd weigh that heavily against these (very) ridiculous policies. I'd also mention it to the ped. If you don't love them and staying or leaving is all the same, then I'd find a new practice. That's honestly BS. I'd put up with it if I absolutely loved the practice but beyond that, no way.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Never heard of an annual fee and I'd never pay one.

I can see the point about being late messing up subsequent appts. but I also feel peds should be understanding of how hard it is to schlep kids around and get places on time. You were 8 minutes late, not 45 minutes late.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Is this a concierge practice?

I am not part of this practice but have heard of practices where you need to pay to be a patient. I always thought it was much more expensive than $150 per year though. You pay not to wait and supposedly have better service.

Re: Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

Is this standard practice ? Pediatrician office question.

I've only had a few doctor appointments where they see me on time. I could understand if you're 15+ minutes late, but 8?

I've only had 1 doctor that didn't take credit cards. I stopped seeing them 5+ years ago. I think its a bad policy. They argue that they don't want to be charged credit card fees. In reality, I think they like to get their cash and not report the income. Welcome to the new world of electronic commerce, no one wants to have that 2% charge, but its a cost of doing business.