At First Step Pediatrics, our goal is to efficiently and comprehensively serve all families entering our doors.  To that end, please note the following policies that keep our services running smoothly.

Appointments

New Patients

• Welcome!  When scheduling your first appointment, we will need the following information and items: Insurance information; the name, date of birth, phone number, and address of the insurance cardholder; the patient’s name, address, phone number, and date of birth; any chronic conditions with which the patient has been previously diagnosed, and whether or not the patient is taking any medication(s).
• At your first appointment, please bring a form of id for yourself (the parent/guardian), as well as the patient’s insurance card.  If you are transferring services from another pediatric clinic, please know the contact information (name, address, phone number, and fax number) of your previous provider so that we may contact them for the patient’s records. 

Office Visits

• Acute/sick visits can be scheduled on the same day or within 24 hours according to availability.  We accept walk-in appointments for established/current sick patients only, but because space cannot be guaranteed, we encourage you to call ahead of time and schedule an appointment prior to coming in.  All well-child visits and appointments of a more complex nature are scheduled in advance. 
• We have several providers in the office at any given time.  When scheduling your next appointment please be sure to let us know if you’re requesting a certain provider.
• A parent or guardian must be present at each visit for patients 17-years-old and younger.  A representative may bring your child to an appointment provided a signed release by the parent or guardian is brought with the child.  
• Be sure to bring a current list of all medications with you to each visit, as well as your child’s shot record if the patient will be receiving vaccines that day.  
• While waiting for your appointment to begin, please know we have several providers in the office at any given time, and so you may be called out of order.

Attendance

• Our office will allow a scheduled patient to arrive up to 5 minutes late. After that we will make every attempt to accommodate your child’s visit, but it cannot be guaranteed.  You may be required to reschedule your appointment, depending on the nature of the visit and/or the availability of the provider you are seeing.
• We require prior notice for any appointment that you are unable to attend.  Our office reserves the right to dismiss a patient after three appointments are missed without advanced notice.  This is not meant to punish our patients; only maintain reliable availability to those who are needing to be seen.  If you are unable to make your appointment, please call 24 hours in advance.​

Vaccines

• Information regarding the risks and benefits of administering/withholding vaccines is available during patient appointments.  This information may also be accessed anytime by clicking on the link: Centers for Disease Control - Vaccines
• We support a parent's choice to accept or decline vaccines for their child(ren); however, a parent/guardian choosing to decline vaccinations must sign a "Refusal to Vaccinate" form, an in-house document for our records that is purposed to release First Step Pediatrics from any liability related to uninformed refusal to vaccinate.  Our office will provide you with this form at appointments designated for vaccines, or you may also find it located on the Downloadable Forms page of this website.
• Due to recent litigation related to uninformed refusal, we require a parent/guardian signature in order to continue services with your child(ren).  We reserve the right to dismiss any patients refusing to comply.
  
• Further information about immunizations may be found on the Vaccines page of our website.
  

​Grievances

• If you are dissatisfied with our services, we take it seriously and invite you to contact our office to resolve the matter and aid us in improving those services.
• Our office reserves the right to dismiss a patient/patient's family from our practice for making unsubstantiated defamatory statements, whether written or spoken.  If you have a grievance with our office or are otherwise dissatisfied with our services, please use the appropriate channels of communication by contacting our office to resolve the matter.

When your child has a need

• ​Call our office to either directly schedule an appointment or speak with an associate who will discuss your child’s symptoms and identify if and when your child needs to be seen by a practitioner.

Medication Refills

• When your child needs a refill, call your pharmacy if a refill has already been authorized; otherwise, call our office.  If your prescription can be sent to a pharmacy, our practitioners will electronically send a refill to your preferred pharmacy.  Please allow up to 48 hours for your request to be completed; however, feel free to call our office to check the status on a prescription request.

After Hours & Weekends

• We would like to extend our help even when our office is closed.  For urgent matters call (724) 309-0970, and a practitioner will return your call.  This number is not intended for medication refills or scheduling appointments, and is reserved only for established patients of First Step Pediatrics.  If you have a non-urgent request in which an answer can wait until our doors reopen, call our main company line at the number below and leave a message.   Be sure to include your name, number, the patient’s name, and the patient’s date of birth along with your message.  
•  Poison Control may be reached 24 hours a day at (800) 222-1222.  If you are concerned about a possible overdose or consumption of poisonous substances by your child, medical professionals trained in toxicology will assist you.
• For true medical emergencies, dial 911 or head to the nearest emergency room.
•  Please know we apply after-hours charges for appointments scheduled at 5:00pm and after, as well as on weekends.  For our insured patients, the amount will vary according to policies put forth by your insurance provider.  Depending on the patient’s insurance plan, you may be responsible in whole or part for this service.  For our self-pay patients, $15 will be added to the baseline amount of an office visit, and payment must be collected before the patient may be seen by a provider.  

payment

Insurance

• We accept most forms of major insurance, as well as most forms of Medicaid; however, we advise you verify your particular insurance carrier with us before scheduling an appointment.  Without exception, our front-end staff must verify your insurance is presently active at every appointment before the patient can be seen by a practitioner.  According to terms set by insurance companies, coverage cannot be retroactively applied if the patient’s insurance is inactive on the date of the appointment. 
• Please bring your current insurance card with you to each visit for each child who will be seen by a provider.  It is your responsibility to notify our staff of any insurance information changes.  We encourage you to refer to your benefits manual or contact your insurance provider if you have any questions about coverage. 
• Please be advised that any issues discussed outside growth and development during a patient’s well check must be charted by a provider and may result in a copay and/or additional charges.
  

Co-Payments

• Your co-payment is due at the time of your visit.  We cannot accept checks; however, we do accept cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Health Savings/Flexible Spending Accounts, and Care Credit.  If you are unable to pay at the time of your visit, we kindly ask that you reschedule your appointment for a better time when payment can be made.

Self-Pay Patients

• If you do not have insurance to cover the cost of your child’s visit, you must pay in full at the time of the appointment.  We cannot accept checks; however, we do accept cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Health Savings/Flexible Spending Accounts, and Care Credit.

Paying Your Bill

• Any residual or outstanding costs incurred during an appointment will be posted to the patient’s account within 48 hours and billed within 60 days.  We kindly request that you prioritize paying the full amount owed, or else establish a payment plan with our office within 2 weeks of receiving your bill.  We accept mail-in checks, made payable to First Step Pediatrics, PA, as well as all other forms of payment previously mentioned.  Please note, we assess a $35 penalty fee for any returned checks, or checks labeled NSF (not sufficient funds).  You may find our mailing address below. 
• For online payments, please see the "Instructions" page under the Payments & Patient Portal tab.  Care Credit may also be accessed by clicking its link under the Payments & Patient Portal tab.

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     "My three kids have been under [Dr. Arouse's] care for long time. I would like to score him more then 5 stars but google won’t offer me a higher score . He has been friendly, careful, and intelligent... I highly recommend Dr Arouse to every one. Experience and care count."    
​    - George M.

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