Your Visit

Before you arrive

Up to one week in advance, our office staff begins to prepare for your visit. They review past records, link and review your CHADIS report and other documents to make sure your charts are up to date. We check to see that we have received any outstanding reports such as lab results, specialist visits, or emergency room visits. This helps us to make sure that we have all the updated information so that your provider can prepare for your visit. Our Front Office Team will review our schedules several days in advance, then work to verify insurance coverage and note any changes from previous visits. If our staff finds any changes, they can contact you (if you have made sure that we have the most current phone and email) before your visit to update our records and save you time when you arrive.

 

At the front desk

Your appointment is finally here! You arrive at one of our offices at least 5-15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. Find the black or white kiosk with the blinking lights.  This is where you will check in. You will verify all your essential information and even take a picture of your child to add to our charts. This photo helps so that if you have to call about your child we have a picture so we know exactly who we are discussing. You will even use the kiosk to swipe your card to pay your co-pay. Have a seat for a brief time and wait for our nurses to call your name.  We are behind the scenes working quickly to get you back after your check-in is complete.

In the reception area

While you are waiting in our reception area, our Medical Assistants (MA) and Providers are busy seeing other patients and cleaning the exam room in which you will be arriving soon. Because we have multiple Providers seeing patients at one time, you may not be called back into an exam room in the order that you arrived. We know that can be frustrating sometimes, but if someone goes back before you in that situation, they may be seeing a different Provider who is running on a different schedule.

We try very hard to be as fast and efficient as possible. We cannot always predict when other concerns, problems or even emergencies will arise and we always want to give every one of our patients as much time as we need to make the best possible assessment, provide the best possible care, and of course, answer all of your questions and concerns. We do our best to let you know when a Provider is running behind, but please feel free to ask for an update if it seems like you have been waiting for a long time – we don’t mind.

 

In the exam room with nurse

On your way back to your exam room our Medical Assistant will get your vital signs (height, weight, temperature, and blood pressure). Once you are in your room they will ask some necessary medical history questions. This information allows your Provider, especially in the case of a sick visit, to get a quick picture of what’s going on before entering the room. This is all important information for the Provider that helps guide the treatment plan. Sometimes your Provider might ask similar questions, but that is because they are trying to pinpoint things just a little more clearly.

All of our Medical Assistants have special medical training, so they are prepared to spot any warning signs that may come up when taking your vital signs and history. If they see a reason for concern – they move more quickly to get an available Provider to the room right away. This happens sometimes if a child is having trouble breathing or has a really high fever. Situations like this are one reason you may sometimes have a longer than usual wait. Sometimes we have to skip over appointments order if it’s necessary to safeguard the health and safety of one of our patients. Once all of your information has been gathered, the Medical Assistant will leave the exam room and let your Provider know that you are ready to be seen.  Your provider will glance over the information and history gathered today and then make their way to find your room.

 

In the exam room with a Provider

Finally, it’s your turn! Once your Provider reviews the history and asks if you have any other questions or concerns, they will begin their exam. Your parent can open the Healow Kids app and see if they wrote down any questions to make sure to ask at the visit. They can also write down any notes so they do not forget. After the exam, the Provider will put all the information together to come up with a plan such as ordering a test or ordering immunizations. If that is the case, the Provider alerts the Medical Assistant who will prepare and then deliver whatever you need to complete your appointment. While your Medical Assistant is taking care of those tasks the Provider may go and see another patient to make sure the schedule keeps flowing smoothly. When the Medical Assistant is finished, you usually will see your Provider one more time to wrap up any questions you may have and give the final treatment plan if they have not already discussed that information.

At check out

Once your exam and treatment are complete, you head back to the front to check out. This is usually our patient’s favorite part of the visit as they can use a special gold coin (parents can use a quarter for siblings) that the Provider will give to them after the visit if they were a good listener and cooperative during their exam. While you are doing this it is the perfect time for parents to make your next appointment. This is also the time for patients who have a balance from the visit and/or pay out of pocket to make their payments.

 

After you leave

Once you walk out the door, we still have a lot of work to do in order to complete your visit.

First, your Provider completes your chart by putting in all the notes from your exam. They formulate a diagnosis and order medications and procedures. They send the medications to the pharmacies electronically. If needed, they make referrals to arrange for a specialist to see your child. The visit summary is uploaded to our patient portal and Healow Kids app usually within 72 hours for you to login and review information that was discussed at that visit. 

Once the office notes have been completed by the Provider, they are reviewed by our billing department. They are members of our staff who attach charges to a bill and make sure they are correct before they submit them to the insurance companies.

Once your bill has been submitted to your insurance company, our Billing department follow the charges and updates your account after payment is received. We may not know until then whether there are certain charges or parts of your bill that your individual insurance plan did or did not cover. If there is a balance due, it is our Billing department who will put together a billing statement.

 

When you call with a concern

There is one more important group of people you may not encounter in our office, but with whom you frequently speak with on the phone. Our triage staff works as a team to answer all phone calls, questions, and concerns about medical issues. They are able to answer many of these questions themselves, as they are Registered Nurses. For some questions, however, they will consult with one of our Providers to get you the best possible care advice. All the care advice they discuss with you is recorded in your electronic medical record and reviewed by a Provider. Because of those electronic medical records, we can access your information and treat you with the exact same great care at all our office locations.

So there you have it! That is the behind-the-scenes look of what happens before, during and after your visit to Rainbow Pediatrics. We hope it gives you some idea of all the things that happen and all of the people who work together to get you through your visit and to keep your precious children as healthy and happy as we can.