Phone Nurse Advice Line – Telephone Calls
If you have an emergency, please dial 911.
During Normal Working Hours:
PrimeCare Pediatrics does not have a full-time phone advice nurse.
However, most insurance companies provide a free Phone Nurse Advice Line which is open and available to their patients 24 hours a day. The phone number to call for advice is usually located on the back of your child’s insurance card. The number may also be found on the appropriate insurance company website.
During the course of the day, our staff and providers usually triage all phone calls. All non-urgent telephone calls will be returned at the end of the office day or between patient visits. Many illnesses cannot be diagnosed over the phone without the provider seeing the patient to perform a proper evaluation, or without performing appropriate laboratory tests.
When you call, please make sure to tell our staff the main complaint or reason for your call, along with your child’s name, age and date of birth. If your child’s issue is one that requires him or her to be seen in the office, you will be offered and appointment.
However, if you chose to leave a message for us to call you back, please make sure you leave a brief but detailed message with all the relevant information as stated above.
All calls identified as urgent will usually be returned the same day. All other calls may be returned the next business day.
After-Hours And Weekend Calls:
After hours and weekend phone calls will be answered promptly by our Answering Service who will arrange for you to speak with a nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA) Phone Nurse Advice Line. Please follow the instructions given on the clinic answering service.
Most calls can be effectively handled this way. However, calls requiring the attention of the provider will be directed to the provider on-call.
Please be aware that this is a fee-based service and there will be a charge of $16.00 for any after hours/weekends calls. This fee is not covered by many insurance companies at this time and will be charged to your account.
Make sure you provide a number where you can be reached.
If you have caller ID block on your phone, it MUST be disabled, otherwise you will not be able to receive a return call from or speak to our on-call provider.
If for some any reason you do not receive a return call after two attempts, please assume that the doctor’s telephone system is not functioning properly and take your child to the nearest pediatric Emergency Room or Urgent Care center.
If you have an emergency, please dial 911.
