COVID 19: New 411 Telehealth & office modifications

by Ari Brown, MD |  March 22nd, 2020

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March 23, 2020

Dear 411 Families,

We remain committed to taking care of your healthcare needs and keeping you informed of the latest COVID 19 updates. We are being as creative as possible to work around the challenges of caring for our patients while keeping patients and staff protected. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding in these stressful times! Here are our new modifications for patient visits, schedules, and office policies regarding charges for phone/portal/telehealth visits effective on March 23, 2020. 

The Short Version:

1. Morning appointments: only newborns and well child visits.
2. Saturday appointments: 411 telehealth visits only for month of April
3. Afternoon appointments: only sick visits
4. Weekday office hours 8 am-5pm (closed from 5-6 pm); Saturday telehealth 9am -1pm
5. Use our new 411 telehealth services! Please register now at this link.
6. A credit card on file is now required for all patients. 
7. There will be a $25 charge for all phonecalls and portal messages for medical advice. 
8. There will be a $10 charge for all prescription refills.
9. 411 Telehealth services will be billed like an in-office visit to your insurance but if the claim is denied, you may be responsible for a maximum fee of $75.
10. A call for infant scales!

The Long Version:

Well Check Visits in Office: AM on weekdays—

1. 1. Newborns, 2 week, 2 month, 4 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month, 15 month, 18 month, 4 year olds, 11 year olds and 16 year olds are considered essential for in-office well child visits because they involve vaccinations. It is highly advised to remain on schedule (because the last thing we need right now is an outbreak of measles or whooping cough). 
   2. We can see other ages for well child visits although many of those well visits can be shifted to a telehealth visit (see below). *Sports physicals need to be done in person.

Well Check Visits via 411 Telehealth—

1. 1. Non-vaccine well checks (*except for sports physicals) can now be scheduled as 411 telehealth visits with our practice. 
   2. How it works: 

–Call our office to schedule a telehealth appointment.

–We will need a credit card authorization if that is not already on file.

–Register for our telehealth service here. 

–You will get an email to check in for your well check online, allowing you to download the patient questionnaire and fill out prior to the visit. 

–Please obtain a height and weight at home so we can calculate a body mass index. We can get a blood pressure at a future in-office visit. 

–Log on to the 411 telehealth portal at your appointment time via smartphone app or with a camera enabled computer.

–We will bill your insurance for the visit, but if denied, patients are responsible for a maximum charge of $75.

Sick Visits in Office: PM on Weekdays

1. We will triage patients by phone and at arrival to determine if patients require a 411 telehealth encounter,  an in-person encounter in office, or the doctor will visit with the family in their car.
2. We rely on you to tell us if your child is coughing (or you are coughing!) to appropriately protect everyone. Thanks for your cooperation.

Sick Visits via 411 Telehealth

1. Our new telehealth service will allow us to maintain your child’s medical home during this unprecedented time. Our 411 doctors are all available by appointment on weekdays and Saturdays.
2. How it works:

–Call our office to schedule an appointment.

–We will need a credit card authorization if that is not already on file.

–Register for our telehealth service here.

–Please obtain a weight and temperature at home. If your child has asthma, it is helpful to have a pulse oximeter and check your child’s oxygen saturation prior to the appointment.

–Log on to the 411 telehealth portal at your appointment time via smartphone app or with a camera enabled computer.

–We will bill your insurance for the visit, but if denied, patients are responsible for a maximum charge of $75.

Charges for phone and portal medical advice encounters, prescription refills

Our practice policy has always been to provide phone and portal messaging advice as a courtesy to patients who utilize us as their primary care provider. Because our daily workload has shifted significantly from patient visits to fielding phone calls and portal messages, we acknowledge we are providing a service and need to charge for these services. 

Special requests

If anyone has purchased an infant scale and no longer needs it, we are looking to loan out scales to our families of newborns who often need to return to the office for periodic weight checks. Please let us know!

We have a profound sense of purpose, especially during this difficult time. Please find comfort in knowing we are here for you and your family. 

Dr. Ari Brown

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