Appointment Policy
- Visits are by appointment only. Patients who walk in without a scheduled appointment will be offered the next available time slot.
- We offer same day sick appointments for your convenience.
Please check in 10 minutes prior to your appointment time. This is to give you time to update your family’s information and complete any required forms, such as developmental screening tools.
You will receive appointment reminders by text, e-mail, and/or phone calls. All appointments scheduled more than 2 days in advance must be confirmed, or they will be released. Appointments scheduled same or next-day are considered confirmed at the time of booking. If you need to cancel or reschedule your child’s appointment, we will be happy to assist you. Please make appointment changes no later than 24 hours (1 business day) before your appointment.
Well Child Visits
Sprout Pediatrics strives to keep our patients as healthy as possible and we believe that the cornerstone of pediatrics is well-child care. It provides us with an opportunity to evaluate your child’s growth and development. Patients from birth through age 21 are required to have a complete physical examination YEARLY to participate in our practice. This is also important since most camps and schools require physical exam forms to be current.
It is ideal if we receive the patient’s medical records prior to the first visit so we can determine if any further immunizations or laboratory tests are needed. We will make this process as easy as possible. Click here to transfer records. Please try to make your check-up appointments three months in advance. We will periodically send out reminder recalls of yearly checkups or overdue vaccines. Be aware that your insurance plan may require a full 12-month time span between routine checkups. Know the date of your child’s last physical when scheduling new appointments.
Sick Visits
We offer same day sick appointments. Please call within business hours to schedule an appointment. Please note, you may be asked to schedule a same-day or next-day appointment to follow-up.
Sick at Well Visits
We are required to document any ADDITIONAL concerns or conditions that arise at well visits. The codes used may have charges and therefore may require a CO-PAY at your child’s well visit as well as other fees that may not be covered by your insurance or that are applied to your deductible. This may include fever, ear infections, strep, or other illnesses that requires additional attention.
Late Arrivals/No Shows
- Patients arriving more than 10 minutes past their appointment time will be offered a later appointment for the same day, if available.
- Patients arriving more than 20 minutes past their appointment time will be considered “no-show” and will be assessed any relevant fees.
- As a courtesy, we will remind you of missed appointments and try to reschedule your child as soon as possible.
- Three “no-shows” or same-day cancellations per family may result in fees or dismissal from the practice.
Cancellation Fees
- We will make every effort to see your child in a timely manner. Please try to be prompt for appointments as it affects all the patients for the rest of the day.
- Appointments cancelled less than 24 hours prior to the appointment time and NO shows will be charged a missed appointment fee.
- Returned checks will be charged a $50 fee, in addition to any late fees accrued.
After Hours Policy
When the office is closed, you have several options to reach us depending on your needs. We encourage families to use our NEW secure patient portal. You can send routine questions, refill requests, and even schedule requests should your child become sick during the night, and your message will be returned the next business day.
You may want to look here for common answers to common complaints (My Sick Child) as well as medication dosing.
Always call 911 for a true medical emergency
Please note that medications will not be called in after hours.
24-Hour Nurse Line
Utilize the nurse line on the back of your health insurance card. This is a free service. They can answer many of your questions.
Patient Portal
We encourage all families to establish access to the patient portal. You can access and print your child’s vaccine records, visit notes, medications, and much more!
Send us a message or appointment request and we will respond the next business day.
Call 504-267-9336
Call our office number and choose the prompt to be connected with the nurse or doctor on call. We will return your call within 1 hour.
Urgent Care
We always prefer you contact the practice before going to any urgent care or emergency room, as we may be able to save you that trip. However, if your child needs urgent medical treatment, we suggest that you are seen by dedicated pediatric providers such as those at Children’s Hospital After Hours OR Children’s Hospital ER or Ochsner Pediatric ER.
Financial Policy
Insurance
Sprout Pediatrics participates with most insurance plans. Each insurance policy is different, and it is therefore impossible for us to know what your particular benefits may be. Therefore, it’s important to contact your insurance company if you have any questions regarding your benefits and for you to know what your payment obligations will be at the time of service. If your insurance company denies coverage, or we otherwise do not receive payment 60 days from filing your claim, the amount will then become due and payable by you.
Copayments and Deductibles
Depending on your insurance policy, a copayment and/or deductible may be required at the time of service. These payments are expected to be made at the time of service. Payment may be made in cash, by check or by card. We also accept Health Savings Account (HSA) cards for payment.
Please note that the copayment is a contractual requirement from the insurance company and cannot be written off by the clinic. If you participate in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and have not yet paid your deductible in full, it is likely that any nonpreventive services will require payment at the time those services are rendered.
Please ensure that if you are unable to bring your child in yourself, whoever brings the child in is prepared to make all payments.
Newborn Coverage
Not all insurance policies offer automatic coverage for new babies. You typically have 30 days from birth to add your child to an insurance plan. Please bring the insurance card of the parent to the first office visit, and then present the child’s card to the office once available.
Sick at Well Visits
We are required to document any ADDITIONAL concerns or conditions that arise at well visits. The codes used may have charges and therefore may require a CO-PAY at your child’s well visit as well as other fees that may not be covered by your insurance or that are applied to your deductible. Examples of this include fever, ear infection, strep throat, or other illnesses that require attention.
Credit Card on File
In order to make sure that we can collect your portion of the bill once your insurance company processes the claim, we require that a valid credit card be kept on file with the practice. Once processing the visit with your insurance, you may owe part of the patient responsibility fee, as spelled out in your Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) . If we do not receive payment for the amount listed on your statement within 14 days, we will run the credit card on file for the full amount owed. Once your card is charged, a receipt will be sent to you by email
If you would like to make arrangements to pay the amount by installments, please notify the office in advance.
Patients Without Insurance Coverage
We are happy to work with families that prefer to pay directly for services or do not have insurance. For such patients, a time of service discount will be applied to the bill. We will provide a cash price list at the time of service.
Administrative Fee
At Sprout Pediatrics, coordination of care is central to making sure that children get good quality healthcare. This means several hours are spent providing services that insurance does not pay for. Some of these services include processing various administrative requests, handling refill requests outside of office visits, providing after hours calls to parents, performing phone consultation with other pediatric specialists, and filling out any forms needed for school or camp without charging a fee for each form. In addition, we offer a patient portal where you are able to access medical records, print immunization records, request forms, and send messages to office staff. We offer electronic prescriptions for all medications, including ADHD medication.
To cover these services, we charge a small annual fee of $25 per family.
No-Show Fee
Missing an appointment without giving prior notice to the practice deprives other patients of the chance to take a slot that opens up. We require notice of at least 1 business day for all cancellations. Failure to notify the clinic in a timely manner will result in a no-show fee. Repeated no-shows will result in the family being advised to transfer care out of the practice.
Divorced/Separated Parents and Custodial Arrangements
Sprout Pediatrics does not get involved in disputes between divorced, separated or custodial parenting arrangements regarding financial responsibility for their child’s medical expenses. By signing as guarantor below, you agree to be financially responsible for the care we provide to your child, regardless of whether a divorce decree, custodial or other arrangement places that obligation on your former spouse or the child’s other parent. We will be happy to provide receipts for paid medical bills for you as requested.
School and Camp Policy
Physical forms that need to be completed for school and camp will require a physical examination at Sprout Pediatrics within the last year. Please refer to your child’s individual form for specific requirements, such as needing a form completed within a shorter time frame than within the last 12 months.
You may mail, fax, or drop off forms to the office.
Please allow 3 business days for all forms to be completed and ready for pick up.
Forms for each preschool, school, and college may have slight variations, so we request that you print and fill out your portion of the form prior to submitting it to the clinic.
Below are the links for the following forms:
LHSAA Form
LSU Form
