Please help us as we struggle with the volume of phone calls that are coming in.  Each morning we receive a staggering number of phone calls.  We are concerned that a parent of a sick child is unable to get through, or there are so many phone calls, we are trying to figure out who might be sick.  It would really help us if you use your web portal for some of the issues below.  Rather than calling, please send a message for any of the following:

• Back to school note – please send in your request and it must include the following: 1) my child is improved 2) there is no fever for 24 hours 3) there is no vomiting or diarrhea in the last 12 hours.  If we do not have this information, we will have to call you for it, delaying the note.  Fill out a PHI form (under forms) and send it to Exchange@fourseasonspediatrics.com and we will fax the note directly to the school.  If you just need a test result, you can print out the result from your portal or labcorp account.  

• Prescription refills

• Test results – please note that all test results can be found under the Medical Records, then select Medical Records from the choices.  Enter a date range and you will see all labs for those dates.  It will also indicate if the provider has not reviewed them yet.  Results will NOT show up under the labs section until your doctor has reviewed and signed off on them.

• Request for a shot visit or for the flu clinic

• Billing requests

Testing

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you

Our office is unable to manage to volume of testing needed.  We would like to see a change in testing strategy and we are working with local pediatricians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, schools and County Health Departments to change what we can.  In the mean time, if your child is low risk and does not need to see the doctor, please use the weblink above to find and schedule a COVID test.  

We want to reserve appointments for those that really need to see the doctor.  These parents are having a hard time calling through in the morning.  The following are some examples of those that we want to call:

•  sore throats without cold symptoms (cold symptoms with a sore throat are not due to Strep),

• those with an ear ache,

• those with asthma symptoms,

• those who appear ill,

• those who have a fever with the beginning of a cold, the fever has resolved for 24-48 hours and now has returned

• those who had no fever in the beginning of a cold, and the fever starts after 3 or more days of cold symptoms

• those with a rash that need the expertise of a pediatrician

• those worried about a sick child for any other reason

If your child just started cold symptoms with a fever, is acting fine, drinking and you need a COVID test to return, we ask that you set up a covid test through the website above.  

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and for your all your help

-All the staff of Four Seasons Pediatrics.