FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions & Policies
Please refer to the FAQ and Policy information on this page. If you do not find your answer here, please contact us.
What Dosage Should I Give My Child
Refer to this chart for common medicine dosage guidelines
Immunizations/Vaccinations
At NxTStep Pediatrics, we believe in the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations and we believe it is important to adhere to the recommended immunization schedule set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/index.html
We will work with parents who need a little “extra time” to get their children to full immunization status, but we do not accept patients whose parents refuse to vaccinate for non-medical reasons. We simply cannot put our patients, who may be too young or immunocompromised, at risk of contracting those infectious diseases prevented by immunization. If you are strongly opposed to immunizations, this may not be the best pediatric practice fit for you, and we wish you well in your continued search.
Office Hours
Our office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am to 5 pm and Wednesday's from 10 am- 5pm. We close daily for lunch during which time calls are not answered. The office is closed on Saturday and Sundays.
Holidays
The office will be closed on all major holidays which include New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Appointments
Appointments can be scheduled by calling (469) 447-8730. We ask that you arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment to complete necessary paperwork and confirm insurance coverage.
We offer same-day sick appointments. If your child has a problem that might require extra time (i.e. behavior concerns, chronic headaches, recurrent abdominal pain), please convey this to our team when scheduling the appointment.
We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics Schedule of Well Child Exam Visits (https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/health-management/Pages/Well-Child-Care-A-Check-Up-for-Success.aspx)
If necessary, please notify our office when you are unable to keep an appointment. Sick appointments should be canceled as soon as possible. Other appointments should be canceled with at least 24-hour notice. Cancellations occurring less than 24 hours prior to the appointment will be subject to a cancellation fee.
New Babies
Congratulations on your new bundle of joy! We are happy to extend a complimentary “Meet the Pediatrician” appointment before your pride and joy arrives.
The doctor no longer rounds at hospitals. No worries, the on-call pediatrician will care for your baby while you are in the hospital. Please call our office upon discharge and we will schedule an appointment for your baby to be seen at our office within 1-2 days after discharged. Please bring your baby’s discharge records from the hospital.
Meet the Doctor
NxTStep Pediatrics offers complimentary “Meet the Pediatrician” appointments. These meetings are intended for you to get a feel of the practice so you can have the information you need to make the very important decision of choosing a pediatrician for your child.
Phone Calls
Calls made to the office during the day will be returned same day. The calls that need urgent medical attention are returned first. Some calls may not be returned until lunchtime but all calls will be returned by the end of each day.
If you have a medical question, your call will be handled by our trained triage nurses. (If you wish your child to be seen, please make an appointment.) All phone calls are returned in the order received, unless there is an urgent problem. We strive to answer all calls on the same day they are received. Please note, calls requiring a physician's input may not be returned until after appointments are seen.
After Hours
If a life threatening emergency arises, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
For non-emergent problems requiring an after-hours office visit, please check with your insurance carrier for recommendations. Two local urgent care clinics are for pediatric patients only, and are listed below. We are not affiliated with either of these clinics, so please ensure that important information is faxed to our office after your visit.
Children’s Health PM Urgent Care
Phone: (214) 488-5437
Website: https://www.childrens.com/locations/uc-the-colony
Urgent Care for Kids
Phone: (972) 731-7700
Website: https://urgentcarekids.com/locations/frisco/
After Hours Calls
We have partnered with Children's Health to offer you a complimentary nurse advice line if you have a medical concern. Please call 469-447-8730 when the office is closed to be directly connected. The nurses are well-trained and should be able to answer the majority of your questions. They send a summary of each call to Dr. Okammor who is always available if the nurses need further expertise or if you would like to speak to her directly. Please note that there will be a fee charged to you if Dr. Okammor needs to be consulted.
Medication Refills
The quickest way to receive a prescription refill is to call your pharmacy, as they can send an electronic request directly to your child's chart in the electronic medical record. Medication refills can also be requested easily through the patient portal, which also goes directly into your child's chart. Phone refill requests will typically be completed within a few days. Some prescriptions may require pre-authorization from your insurance carrier, so please be sure to contact us before your child is completely out of medicine. Refills will not be given for patients who have not had an exam within the preceding 12 months. Patients requiring ADHD medication refills will need to have an exam within the preceding 6 months. All refill requests are subject to physician discretion.
Referrals
Most insurance plans do not require formal referrals from our office, but require that you use an in-network provider to have a covered service. Some insurance providers will require a referral or prior authorization for certain procedures, diagnostic imaging, or specialist appointments. It is the responsibility of the insured to be fully aware of the insurance plan requirements.
Also, please remember that even if your health plan has issued an authorization number, this is not a guarantee of payment. We are unable to do retroactive referrals (paperwork after the appointment has occurred), so please notify our office at least one week in advance of an appointment requiring a formal referral.
Cancellations / No Shows
Life happens. We get it. Missing an appointment without giving prior notice to the practice deprives other patients of the chance to take a slot that opens. As much as possible we ask that you kindly give us 24-hour notice when cancelling or rescheduling an appointment. 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 our practice.
Late Arrivals
We work diligently to stay on schedule and ask that you arrive 10-15mins prior to your appointment time to fill out any necessary paperwork. If you arrive more than 15minutes after your appointment time, your appointment may be canceled, and you will have to reschedule for another date and time.
Forms
We receive a lot of forms to fill out for our patients and we understand that there may be forms which our office will need to complete for your child to participate in daycare, band, sports, and other activities. These forms are often lengthy and take extra time to be completed. We are happy to fill out school physical/daycare attendance forms, camp forms, and anaphylaxis/food allergy plans if your child has been seen for a well child visit in the last 12 months. Otherwise, your child will need to be seen before we can fill out the requested form.
Effective January 1, 2024, the following family membership fees will be assessed annually as authorized by you. The annual administrative forms completion fees will be:
1 Child $25
2 Children $45
3 Children $60
4+Children $75
If you elect not to participate in the family membership, then a $25.00 charge will be incurred for each form completion request. Once payment is received, please allow 5-7 business days for it to be completed and returned to you.
Insurance
NxTStep Pediatrics is an in-network provider for all major and numerous minor insurance carriers, including BlueCross, Aetna, Cigna, and United Healthcare.
If we have a contract with your insurance carrier, we will file medical claims directly with them. You are responsible for all co-pays, coinsurance, deductibles, and non-insurance covered services at the time of service. In order to submit your claim, we must have a current copy of your insurance card on file. Please bring your insurance card to every visit.
Please note that there are certain services and items that may not be covered by the carrier, and are the responsibility of the patient to pay.
All payments are due at the time of service. Cash, checks, and all major credit cards are accepted. We are pleased to bill insurance on your behalf for all services rendered, but patients are ultimately responsible for any balance not paid by insurance. Please call us at (469) 447-8730 if you have any questions regarding your account.
Understanding Your Health Insurance Costs
Watch this Consumer Reports video that provides an overview of health insurance to give you a better sense of how your money is spent with health insurance.