• Children are not just little adults. Their healthcare needs are different. Pediatricians understand that children often present with different symptoms and ways to describe what they are feeling. 
• Pediatricians are experts in health care needs of children - Both a pediatrician and a family medicine physician complete medical school for four years and then complete a residency program. However, the pediatric residency program focuses just on the unique healthcare needs of kids, rather than the entire age spectrum. The extra focus on children helps them understand the growth and development of infants, toddlers, school-aged children, adolescents, and teenagers. They understand the unique challenges youth face, how to identify a child-specific problems, and the prescribing specifications for those under 18 as a few examples. 
• Clinical Staff - All of our nurses have chosen to work specifically with kids. They love caring for children and helping parents along the journey. Your child responds differently than adults and our nurses are experts in speaking their language. They have no problems making silly faces and use more kid friendly terminology.

• Regular office hours are Monday - Friday from 9am - 5pm. Our phones are off for lunch from 12p-1:30p.
• Insurance - our providers are in network with most commercial insurance policies as well as a few plans from the Marketplace. We do not take Medicaid or BCMH. For more information, please visit our financial information page.
• Education Resources - We have a list of protocols on our website that have been written by the physicians of Hilliard Pediatrics.  This resource is designed to help provide education regarding various childhood illnesses and injuries as well as common childhood topics such as nutrition and safety.
• After Hours - When our office is closed and you have an urgent issue that cannot wait until regular office hours, you can call the main office number at 614-777-1800 and request a call back from our provider on call. Our after hours call is staffed exclusively by Hilliard Pediatrics providers.

• Our nurses schedule all of our sick (non-routine) visits so they can review symptoms and help determine if symptoms can be managed at home or should be seen for a visit in the office.
• We have our nurses available for phone triage 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday. To speak with a nurse, please call during routine hours, select option 1, and leave a brief message with your child's information and how to get ahold of you.  All messages left before 4pm will be returned same day.
• We also offer text nurse triage/advice for established patients by texting 614-500-4045.  Please include your child's name, DOB, and your relationship to the child along with a brief description of your question or reason for scheduling and a staff member will respond to your text during regular business hours.
• Every phone/text discussion with the nurses is reviewed by a phyician or nurse practitioner the same day.

We offer same day sick visits every weekday. There are 2 options for these appointments:

• Acute illness/walk-in hour - Monday - Friday (NOT Saturday) 8am - 9am
  • These are unscheduled, acute sick visits for simple, new illnesses that arise that you would like seen. You will arrive at our office and register from our parking lot through our website and patients are brought in and seen in the order in which they register. Please note, we we are not able to address chronic medical concerns or routine visit during this time.
• Scheduled same day appointments 
  • Our phones turn on at 9am and we schedule sick visits throughout the day until 5pm. If all of our appointment slots get filled, we can get you scheduled for an appointment the following business day (excluding Saturdays).

• We schedule same day acute sick visits on Saturday mornings to help keep kids out of the urgent care.
• Phones turn on at 9am and visits are on a first come, first-served basis. During the busy sick season, these visits can fill up quick, so we recommend calling as close to 9am as possible. 
• Please note, we do NOT have an acute illness/walk-in hour on Saturdays, all visits are by appointment only.

Our providers believe routine, comprehensive, preventive care helps your child stay healthy. A minor issue today can turn into something serious if not addressed. These visits also give parents an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns that arise such as behavior, sleeping patterns, diet, and social interactions.  Maintaining these visits provides quick interevention and helps supports your child's physical needs along with their overall growth and development.

At each wellness visit, our team will measure your child's height and weight as well other age appropriate measurements. They will also review developmental milestones to track your child's progress. The provider will do a thorough exam and provide education on what to expect in the coming months until your next routine visit.

To help with continuity of care, you will see the same provider for each of your child's regularly scheduled wellness visits. This also creates more of a trusting relationship so that as kids get older they feel more comfortable being open and honest with their pediatrician about things they may be uncomfortable talking to others about. 

In addition to our vaccine policy, there are a few other areas we want to highlight our practice philosophies on:

• Antibiotics - we work hard to not overuse antibiotics. We education families on proper use of antibiotics and follow evidence based guidelines. We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone as we do not believe that it is good medicine. We will prescribe an antibiotic when we believe it is an appropriate treatment.
• Medical Home - we work hard to provide comprehensive medical care and serve as your medical home. To that end, we ask that you contact our office before seeking specialty care, or heading to another provider for urgent care. If it is after hours, we encourage you to check out our many protocols available on our website as often, it isn't necessary for your child to be seen overnight and can be seen the next day in our office.