Our Services | Telephone Calls | Prescriptions | Newborn Insurance Tips | Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule | FAQs

Pediatric Consultants offers a wide range of services in order to provide comprehensive care for your child from birth to young adulthood:

The Newborn Process

Before you chose a pediatrician, you should always call to verify that the doctor is accepting new patients. It is advisable to also call your insurance company to verify the physician is in your network.

The Hospital
Our physicians visit the nurseries at both Methodist-Germantown and Baptist-Women’s Hospital every morning. If your baby is delivered at one of these hospitals, inform the admission office which doctor you have chosen as your pediatrician. (Pre-registration is available at both Methodist-Germantown and Baptist-Women’s Hospital).

After your baby is born, the hospital will list your baby on our group’s rounding list. Our on-call doctor will visit your baby each morning that you are admitted to the hospital. Please bear in mind that the physician on-call that day may not be your pediatrician.

First Appointment
After you are discharged from the hospital, you will need to call our office to make a two-week appointment with the pediatrician you have chosen.

This is usually a good time to call your insurance company to add your new baby onto your policy and selecting a PCP if required by your insurance plan.

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Our Services

We offer a wide range of services in order to provide comprehensive care for your child from birth to young adulthood.

Office Visits – Almost all of your encounters with our physician staff will be in our office. We aim to be as available to our patients as possible - same day appointments are available for children with urgent needs. When scheduling an appointment, let the scheduler know of any special problems that you would like to address during the appointment.

Hospital Visits – In the event your child has a sickness or injury that requires hospitalization, the staff physicians in our group will oversee the child’s care and arrange any necessary sub-specialty visits. We routinely prefer to hospitalize at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center, but we also see patients at Baptist East Hospital.

Walk-ins - If your child has been sick overnight, you may arrive between 8am and 9:30am without an appointment. Even in these situations, because of the volume in the morning it is usually best to call and obtain an appointment time for that day.

Saturday Sick Hours – Our East Memphis location offers walk-in hours for sick patients from 8:30am to 11:00am every Saturday (doors open at 8:00am).

Online Services – Our website offers registered users secure access to requests for: test results, prescription refills, and more.

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Telephone Calls

Emergency Calls (day or night)
Call 911 for life threatening emergencies in which your child may require resuscitation (your child is not breathing, is choking severely, is unconscious, or is having seizures, for example).

Call our office for minor emergencies such as dehydration, difficulty breathing, minor lacerations, and minor fractures. When you call in, always state clearly, "This is an emergency." Your call will be transferred immediately to a nurse or physician.

Sick Calls
Please have the following information available when you call:

  • Your child's main symptoms
  • Any chronic disease or health problem your child has
  • Your child's temperature if she is sick
  • Your child's approximate weight (for calculating drug dosages)
  • The names of any medications your child is taking
  • Your pharmacy's phone number
  • Your questions (it's a good idea to write them down)

During Office Hours – If your child is sick and you want the doctor to see him/her, call our office for an appointment that day. If you would like advice on how to care for your child at home, our nurses are trained to make decisions about how to provide home care.

After Office Hours – We contract with a group of well-trained nurses to return your urgent medical calls when the office is closed. The nurse can help you determine if your child needs to be seen or if home care measures are OK until our office opens. If there is a problem the nurse cannot answer, they will contact the on-call physician. Call our exchange at: 901.542.5765.

Calls about well-child questions
We are happy to provide you with the health information you need as a parent. (See Recommended Reading). Please place calls about behavior questions or other well-child issues during weekday office hours.

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Prescriptions

Many children with chronic illness require daily, long-term medication. Our office is happy to call in refills for these medications during weekday office hours. Remember to have the prescription number and the telephone number of your pharmacy when you call.

We prefer not to call in antibiotic prescriptions without an office visit.

Make sure you call before you run out of medication. Remember, you may submit your refill request at our Online Services section

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Helpful Newborn Insurance Information

Figuring out your newborn’s insurance will save you from a lot of headaches and may even save you money!

Five common issues you should be aware of:
  1. To add your newborn to your insurance you must notify them of the baby’s birth (most plans give you only 30 days).
  2. You cannot choose which insurance plan is primary for your baby.
    • Two commercial plans. If your newborn will be on both the mother’s and father’s commercial insurance, the primary plan will be determined by the Birthday Rule. This means whichever parent’s birthday falls first within a calendar year will be primary.
    • Tenncare & commercial insurance. Tenncare is always secondary.
    • Tricare & commercial insurance. Tricare is always secondary.
  3. Not all insurance policies cover newborn checkups, some insurance policies will only pay for three wellness visits or up to $300 a year, and others only pay for immunizations. Know your coverage!
  4. Pick a PCP. Some insurance plans require you pick a Primary Care Provider for your baby, even if you have other children assigned to the same doctor. If you do not notify them they may not pay your claims or may randomly assign your baby to a Pediatrician you do not know.
  5. Look out for forms from your insurance carrier requesting information about other insurance your newborn may have. Even if your baby does not have other coverage this form must be returned for your insurance to pay claims.
Special Circumstances
  • Minor Parents – A newborn can only be covered by the grandparent’s insurance if the grandparent is the legal guardian of the baby. Some policies will cover hospitalization charges for the baby’s first thirty days. To avoid being responsible for large medical bills have other coverage worked out as soon as possible.
  • Baby name change – Medical claims will not be paid if the wrong name is used. To avoid this problem make sure our office and your insurance company know immediately about any changes to the child’s name.
  • Tricare Prime – The military member must get the baby entered into the DEERS system and fill out enrollment forms in person. If this is not done within 60 days they revert to the standard benefit. A PCP must be selected even if you have other children seeing the same doctor.
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Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule

The recommended schedule for check ups during the first 2-years of life is mainly to keep the required immunizations up-to-date. The schedule of immunizations as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is shown below or can be downloaded here.

Memphis, TN Pediatrics - Pediatric Consultants, P.C.

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Prenatal – Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve heard nice things about your group, but I’m unsure which doctor I should choose?
How do I let the doctor know I want them to be my baby’s pediatrician?
How will the doctor know when my baby is born?
Where is your office located and what are your office hours?
With which insurance plans do the doctors participate?
Will my baby always see his own doctor?
When does my baby need to have check-ups?
What do I do if my baby is sick?
What do I do if my baby is sick after-hours?
Which hospitals are the doctors affiliated?
Will the doctor see my baby if he/she is admitted to the hospital?
Who can I contact if I have other questions?

I’ve heard nice things about your group, but I’m unsure which doctor I should choose?
The first way to narrow your choices would be to call our office to find out which doctors are accepting new patients. You may want to consider at which office the doctor sees patients. Drs. Frizzell, Pendergrass, Livingston, and Scott see patients at our Downtown Office. Drs. Pendergrass, Ellis, Sepulveda, Mathis, and Best see patients at our East Office location. You can also view profiles of all our physicians on our website.
Back to Questions

How do I let the doctor know I want them to be my baby’s pediatrician?
We will be informed when the baby appears on our newborn rounding list provided by the hospital where your baby is born or when you call to schedule the baby’s two week checkup. Keep in mind that not all our doctors are always able to take new patients. It is best to call a month or two before the baby is born to make sure the doctor you want is accepting new patients.
Back to Questions

How will the doctor know when my baby is born?
When you check-in at the hospital you will inform them who you’ve chosen to be your baby’s pediatrician. (To make your check-in much easier you can pre-register with the hospital where your baby will be born. To pre-register with Methodist-Germantown you can visit www.methodisthealth.org, to pre-register with Baptist-Women’s visit www.baptistonline.org.) Every morning our on-call doctors visit newborns at Methodist-Germantown and Baptist-Women’s Hospital based on the list provided to us. The scheduled physician from our group will visit you and your baby each day you are in the hospital.
Back to Questions

Where is your office located and what are your office hours?
Our Downtown Office is located at 777 Washington Ave, Suite 410 in Memphis (901)523-2945. This is directly across from LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. Our East Office is located at 6215 Humphreys Blvd, Suite 300 in Memphis (901)821-9990. This is next to Baptist-Women’s Hospital. Both offices are open Monday – Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm. Our East Office is also open from 8:30am to 11:00am on Saturday for sick children only.
Back to Questions

With which insurance plans do the doctors participate?
Our practice participates with most major commercial insurance plans in this area. Our doctors are enrolled in TennCare Select, TLC, and Unison. We are currently no longer accepting new Tricare patients. Because of the large number of carriers we cannot always tell your network by just the name of your insurance plan, it is always best to call your insurance to verify that our doctors are in your network.
Back to Questions

Will my baby always see his own doctor?
Research shows that your child will receive better care if one doctor provides most of your care. We aim to provide continuity of care for your child by scheduling the appointment with a particular doctor for the majority of your visits. In doing so, we recognize the emotional benefit for you, the patient, and the staff as well. If your doctor is not available for any reason, then of course, you may see one of the other doctors.
Back to Questions

When does my baby need to have check-ups?
During the first year your baby will need wellness visits at 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months old. This is primarily to keep up with childhood immunizations. The immunization schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is available on our website.
Back to Questions

What do I do if my baby is sick?
If your child is sick and you want the doctor to see him/her, call our office for an appointment. If your child is sick and you would like advice on how to care for your child at home, our nurses can help. The nurses are trained to make decisions about patients that need to be seen by the doctor and how to provide home care for children that may not need to see the doctor. You may be asked to leave a message and a nurse will return your call. Both of our offices have walk-in sick hours from 8:00am to 9:30am. Because of the volume of patients in the morning it is still best to call first.
Back to Questions

What do I do if my baby is sick after-hours?
In emergency situations (for example if your child is not breathing, is choking severely, is unconscious, or is having seizures) you should call 911. For other urgent matters you can call our answering service at 901-542-5765 (this number is also provided on our office after-hours voice message). The operator will obtain all necessary information for the on-call nurse to return your call. At our East Office on Saturdays from 8:30am to 11:00am we have walk-in hours for sick children. Our East Office is located at 6215 Humphreys Blvd. Suite 300, Memphis. The phone number is (901)821-9990.
Back to Questions

Which hospitals are the doctors affiliated?
Our doctors are affiliated with LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center, Methodist Germantown Hospital, Methodist University Hospital, Baptist Women’s Hospital, and Baptist East Memorial Hospital.
Back to Questions

Will the doctor see my baby if he/she is admitted to the hospital?
In the event your child has a sickness or injury that requires hospitalization, the pediatricians in our group are experts in the care of sick children. We routinely prefer to hospitalize at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center, but we also see patients at Methodist University Hospital and Baptist East Hospital. The staff physicians in our group will oversee the child's care and arrange for any sub specialty visits that may be necessary.
Back to Questions

Who can I contact if I have other questions?
If you need more information you may contact our Prenatal Contact Donna Pendergrass at 901-531-6380 or via the Feedback Icon on our website.

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Pediatric Consultants, PC
Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION

We are required by law to protect the privacy of protected health information, provide this notice about our privacy practices, and follow the information practices that are described in this notice.

This office is permitted by federal privacy laws to make uses and disclosures of your health information for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. Protected health information is the information we create and obtain in providing our services to you. Such information may include documenting your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and applying for future care or treatment. It also includes billing documents for those services.

Example of use of health information for treatment purposes:

  • If during the course of your child's treatment the physician determines a consult with a specialist will be needed, we will share your information with the specialist and obtain their input.
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Example of use of health information for payment purposes:
  • When we seek payment, we will provide information about your child and the care given requested by your health insurance company.
Example of use of health information for health care operations:
  • We will share your information to obtain services from business associates such as quality assessment, quality improvement, protocol and clinical guidelines development, training programs, credentialing, medical review, and legal services.

In addition to the above mentioned uses of your Protected Health Information related to treatment, payment and healthcare operations, Pediatric Consultants may use your Protected Health Information for the following purposes:

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVITIES
As required by law, we may disclose your protected health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

VICTIMS OF ABUSE, NEGLECT, OR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
We can disclose protected health information to governmental authorities to the extent the disclosure is authorized by statute or regulation and in the exercise of professional judgment the doctor believes the disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm to the individual or other potential victim.

OVERSIGHT AGENCIES
Federal law allows us to release your protected health information to appropriate health oversight agencies or for health oversight activities to include audits, civil, administrative or criminal investigations: inspections; licensures or disciplinary actions, and for similar reasons related to the administration of healthcare.

JUDICIAL/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
We may disclose your protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding as allowed or required by law, with your consent, or as directed by a proper court order or administrative tribunal, provided that only the protected health information released is expressly authorized by such order, or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process including laws that require reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injury.

CORONERS, MEDICAL EXAMINERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
We may disclose your protected health information to funeral directors or coroners consistent with applicable law to allow them to carry out their duties.

ORGAN PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONS Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose your protected health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs, or tissue for the purpose of donation and transplant.

RESEARCH
We may disclose information to researchers when, their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected health information.

FOR SPECIALIZED GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS
We may disclose your protected health information for specialized government functions as authorized by law such as to Armed Forces personnel, for national security purposes, or to public assistance program personnel.

Uses of Information with Opportunity to Object

  • We may contact you to provide you with information about treatment alternatives, or with information about other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

  • We will assume any person you have allowed to bring your child into our office, has the authorization to receive protected health information regarding your child. We may disclose to a family member, or other person you identify, health information relevant to that person's involvement in your chinos care or in payment for such care if you do not object or in an emergency.

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Other Uses and Disclosures

  • Other uses and disclosures besides those identified in this Notice will be made only as otherwise authorized by law or with your written authorization which you may revoke except to the extent information or action has already been taken.

INFORMATION RIGHTS

The health and billing records we maintain are the physical property of Pediatric Consultants. You have the following rights with respect to your Protected Health Information

  1. Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by delivering the request in writing to our office. We are not required to grant all requests but we will comply with any request granted;

  2. Obtain a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information;

  3. In certain circumstances you have the right to inspect and copy your health record and billing record. You have to the right to appeal a denial of access to your protected health information;

  4. Right to request that your health care record be amended to correct incomplete or incorrect information. The physician or other health care provider is not required to make such amendments; you may file a statement of disagreement if your amendment is denied, and require that the request for amendment and any denial be attached in all future disclosures of your protected health information;

  5. Right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information as required to be maintained by law. An accounting will not include internal uses of information for treatment, payment, or operations, disclosures made to you or made at your request, or disclosures made to family members or friends in the course of providing care.

If you would like to exercise any of the rights above please ask our front desk for the appropriate form or call our Privacy Officer at 901-523-2945.

Our Responsibilities

The office is required to:

  • Maintain the privacy of your health information as required by law;

  • Provide you with a notice as to our duties and privacy practices as to the information we collect and maintain about your child;

  • Abide by the terms of this Notice;

  • Notify you if we cannot accommodate a requested restriction or request; and

  • Accommodate your reasonable requests regarding methods to communicate health information with you.

  • Accommodate your request for an accounting of disclosures.

We reserve the right to amend, change, or eliminate provisions in our privacy practices and access practices and to enact new provisions regarding the protected health information we maintain. If our information practices change, we will amend our Notice. You are entitled to receive a revised copy of the Notice by calling and requesting a copy of our Portico or by visiting our office and picking up a copy.

To Request Information or File a Complaint
If you have questions, would like additional information, or want to report a problem regarding the handling of your information, you may contact:

Pediatric Consultants
Attn: Privacy Officer
777 Washington Ave, Suite 410
Memphis, TN 38105

Any person believing to have knowledge about a violation of a patients confidentiality or any HIPAA regulation may file a compliant. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. All complaints must be submitted to the Privacy Officer in writing within 180 days from when the alleged violation occurred. Pediatric Consultants has a standard complaint form that will be provided if desired. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20201.

We will not require you to waive the right to file a complaint as a condition of receiving treatment from the office.

Effective Date: April 14th 2003

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New Patient Paperwork
We recommend that you complete and mail the forms below, prior to your baby’s birth. If you prefer you may bring them to your baby’s first appointment.
New Patient Information Form
Family History Form
 
PEDIATRIC CONSULTANTS
 
  Le Bonheur Office
PH: 901-523-2945 | FX: 901-523-8488
777 Washington Ave, Suite 410
Memphis, TN 38105
Mon - Fri  8:30 - 5:00
 		 Baptist Women's Office
PH: 901-821-9990 | FX: 901-821-9991
6215 Humphreys Blvd, Suite 300
Memphis, TN 38120
Mon - Fri 8:30 - 5:00 and Sat 8:30 - 11:00
  
  Collierville Office
PH: 901-457-2880 | FX: 901-457-2881
1458 West Poplar Ave., Suite 2
Collierville, TN 38017
Mon - Fri 8:30 - 5:00
 
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