Forms & Policies

Scheduling an Appointment at Cobb Pediatrics

• We see patients by appointment only in an effort to keep your wait times at a minimum.
• Our Patient Services team is dedicated to handling all incoming calls, requests and appointment scheduling. They can be reached during normal business hours by phone or message via the Patient Portal.
• Prior to scheduling, we will  confirm your demographic and insurance information – so please have this information available when you call.
• We ask that you give as much detail as possible regarding the reason(s) for your appointment so that we can set aside the appropriate amount of time needed for your visit.

What to Bring to an Appointment

• Photo identification and a current insurance card (if applicable) are required to be presented at each visit.
• Payment for any co-payment, deductible, or balance remaining from a prior visit (if applicable). We accept cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
• Minor children must be accompanied by a registered Parent or Guardian (at all in-person and telemedicine visits).  As a courtesy, we will see unaccompanied 17-year olds who are established patients with prior written authorization from the registered parent or guardian. This treatment authorization should be submitted as a message to us via the Patient Portal. We will see unaccompanied 16-year olds who are established patients on a case-by-case basis, and these requests must be approved by the Physician or Nurse Practitioner prior to your appointment. This treatment authorization/ request should also be submitted as a message to us via the Patient Portal. Parents and guardians are encouraged to be reachable by telephone during these appointments in case any questions arise, and are welcome to actively participate in any discussions via speakerphone.

Walk-Ins and Sibling Add-on Appointments

• We do not accept walk-ins and require that you call in advance for all appointments – whether it is a well visit, sick visit, or if you need to add sick siblings to an existing patient appointment.
• We reserve multiple “Same Day” sick visit appointments on our daily schedules specifically for these last-minute type visits. Calling ahead will ensure that one of these appointments are reserved for you and will allow our staff to prepare in advance for your arrival.

Missed Appointments and Late Cancellations

• We don’t overbook our schedules, so when you schedule an appointment with our office that specific time has been set aside for you. Missed appointments and last-minute cancellations are very costly to our practice and also prevent us from giving that appointment to another child in need.
• We ask for 24-hours notice on all appointment cancellations when possible.
• A $50.00 fee (per patient) will be charged if you fail to show for an appointment or for avoidable cancellations that occur within 24-hours of the appointment time. Families with excessive no-shows or last-minute cancellations will be asked to leave our practice.

Late Appointment Arrivals

• If you are late for a scheduled appointment, we cannot guarantee that you will be seen. We will do our very best to accommodate you (if it’s possible to do so without inconveniencing other patients who arrived on time.)
• If we cannot accommodate you, we will reschedule your appointment for another day or time.
• Late appointment arrivals are equal to a missed appointment, therefore a $50.00 (per patient) fee will apply.

Emergencies

Call 911 in the case of an emergency.

For the Georgia Poison Control 24-hour hotline, please call 1-800-222-1222

Medical Advice and Questions

• Our website is available 24/7 as a reliable resource for finding current, recommended pediatric medicine dosages or information on treating and managing hundreds of the most common pediatric illnesses and conditions. Visit Is Your Child Sick? from our home page for the most up-to-date treatment recommendations for your child’s specific symptoms.
• In the event you need additional assistance, our Patient Services department can be reached by phone or Patient Portal message during normal office hours. If calling during peak hours or seasons, you may be asked to leave a message, but our goal is to return all calls within 1 hour.  If you feel that your call is urgent or you have not been called back within a reasonable amount of time, please call again and let our staff know so that they can expedite your request.

After Hours Calls and Assistance

• Calls received on holidays or outside of normal business hours will be forwarded to our after-hours automated attendant.
• For non-urgent calls such as routine questions,  prescription refills or requests, medical records, referrals, or appointments, etc., please follow the prompts to leave a message for the appropriate department. Your call will be returned by our staff the following business day. Non-urgent requests may also be submitted via our Patient Portal.
• If your call is urgent and cannot wait until the following business day, from the automated attendant please choose option “1” to be transferred to our answering service. After hours medical advice calls will be routed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Nurse Advice Line. If you need additional assistance our answering service will take your information and page the on-call doctor. In the event that we to refer you for emergency care or treatment outside of our normal business hours, we will recommend a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta emergency facility.