Policies

To help provide timely service to our patients, we prefer to schedule all visits. If you are later than 10 minutes for your appointment, we will try to work you back into the schedule. Out of courtesy to our other patients, we may be forced to ask you to reschedule your appointment.

Patients who walk in with a non-emergency condition may be fit into the existing schedule as best as possible, or they will be asked to return later in the day when the schedule allows. Please note that, out of courtesy to patients with existing appointments, you may need to wait until an opening in the schedule arises.

To keep your children healthy, it is important to bring them in for regular checkups. Staying up to date with well visits is a requirement of insurance companies, as well as of our practice. We recommend that you call our office 1 to 2 months in advance so you may choose the date that best fits your needs. The list below is our recommended schedule for Well Child Visits.

We make every effort to schedule appointments for ill children on the day that you call us. Please call our office ahead of time so that we can minimize the time that you will spend waiting. If you have a medical emergency during office hours, we will do our best to see your child immediately or refer you to the appropriate facility.

If you would like us to see more than one child, please schedule both of them when you make your appointment. Without an appointment, we may not be able to see a sick sibling right away, and you may be asked to wait while the clinician sees a scheduled patient who may be waiting.

For your convenience, we offer appointments from 7 AM to 8 AM from Monday through Friday. Also, telemedicine visits are available from 5 PM to 7 PM from Monday through Thursday. Telemedicine visits may also be scheduled on weekends, depending on the nature of the illness and availability.

The doctor takes emergency calls from his home after hours. Call the main office number, and you can leave a message for the doctor to call or message you back. Please rest assured, the message will go to the doctor's cell phone and you will receive a message via text or call after your child's medical record has been reviewed.

Please save routine questions (mild illness, appointments, prescription refills, form requests) for regular business hours. We encourage you to refer to our website first, when practical, before calling the office, as it has a lot of information and guidance available. After hours calls may generate a bill that is sent to your insurance company.

Telemedicine is also available and Dr. Rivera may choose to turn after hours calls into virtual visits, to be able to assess your child and determine appropriate treatment.