New Patients

Insurance copays are expected to be paid at the time of service. If you are unable to comply, you must speak with the billing department prior to the visit to set up a payment plan.

Make sure we participate with your insurance plan. 

It is your responsibility to know the limits and coverage of your particular health insurance policy, to show your cards to us at each visit, and be prepared to pay any copays at the time of service.

Our billing staff will do their best to assist you with insurance questions; however, If you have questions about your coverage, it is best check with your specific insurance company.

Our office does not want you to be surprised by a bill, but must always bill your health plan based on federal guidelines and the actual services provided.

Please read our Financial Policy for more information regarding insurance.

We work hard to provide comprehensive medical care and serve as your medical home. To that end, we expect that you contact our office FIRST before seeking specialty care, or heading to another provider for urgent care. We want to be involved in either providing care in our office where appropriate, or referring you to the most appropriate specialist and helping to coordinate your care.

Whenever you do see a specialist, we ask that you request a report be sent directly to our office so we may stay informed and have the most up-to-date information in your medical record.

Our practice prides itself on efficiency through use of technology. You will be encouraged to consult our website, register for and use our patient portal, and effectively use automated reminders for appointments and for routine care/immunizations that are due.

We have a physician or nurse on call 24/7/365. When our office is closed overnight and you have an urgent issue that cannot wait until morning, you can call our main number and the provider on-call will give you advice regarding your child's problem.

You may wish to check the "Is Your Child Sick?" section of our website for helpful information before using this service. Read more about After Hours care.

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics. We educate families on appropriate use of antibiotics. We follow evidence-based guidelines and don’t automatically treat ear pain or a green snotty nose with antibiotics.

We will not prescribe antibiotics or steroids over the phone as we do not believe that is good medicine. We will prescribe an antibiotic when we believe it is an appropriate treatment.

We make every effort to meet the needs of our patients, offering both routine well visits and sick visit appointments.

We do not offer walk-in appointments.

To ensure we provided you with the most efficient care we highly recommend you call ahead to schedule an appointment as soon as needed.

Please familiarize yourself with our office hours to see if they work for your family.

Our practice makes every effort to run on time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable.

As a courtesy, we will remind you of your upcoming appointments via phone/text message/email.

We ask that you arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. We understand sometimes things happen beyond your control that may cause you to be late. However, we reserve the right to ask you to reschedule if you arrive late for your appointment.

Missed Appointments: Broken appointments represent a cost to us, to you, and to other patients who could have been seen in the time set aside for you. We reserve the right to charge a fee for canceled or missed appointments. We request 24 hours notice for cancellation of appointments.

A fee may be charged for a second missed appointment. The third consecutive missed appointment will result in discharge from the practice.
For new patients, a fee may be charged if the FIRST appointment is missed.

We at Advocare Delaware Pediatrics feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. For this reason we will only accept patients whose parents/guardians agree to vaccinate their children according to the schedule established and published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This measure has been taken to ensure the safety of all of our patients.  We will do everything we can to reassure you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do. Should you have any concerns, please feel free to discuss them with us

Our Vaccine Policy follows the schedule outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). For more information see  About the Vaccine Education Center | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

For acute care, call the office to speak with triage staff, who will listen to your concerns and schedule an appointment for you. Sometimes an appointment may not be needed, and staff will advise you regarding your issue, or check with the physician and call you back.

If our nurse is on with another caller, you will be asked to leave a message and you will receive a return call.

For well visits, call our routine appointment line.. Well visits may be scheduled up to 123 months in advance. You will receive an automated reminder ahead of when your child is due for their next well visit. (Automated reminders are also sent for any vaccines for which your child is due.)