Policies

We are excited to have you as part of our practice.

We know that paperwork can be time-consuming so we ask that patients arrive at least 15 minutes before their appointment so that any needed paperwork can be completed and insurance/demographics can be verified. Our hope is that this can make your experience smoother. We also offer an online option to complete most of the needed paperwork. Please go to the "Office Info" tab and select "Forms" to find the appropriate paperwork.

Our practice makes every effort to run on-time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable. Our front office staff does its best to schedule sufficient time for the patient's anticipated needs. We sometimes run into situations that require additional time to be spent with a patient or family. We promise to do our best to let you know if the provider is running behind. 

We ask that any appointment cancellations happen at least 24 hours in advance. This allows us to offer that time slot to a patient in-need. Late cancellations or no shows may incur a fee. If a family incurs 3 late cancellations or no-shows, they may be dismissed from the practice. Services provided by Dr. Sara Streufert have a separate appointment/financial policy.

At Centennial Pediatrics of Spokane, we aim to provide the highest quality of service to you and your family. This requires a team approach – our office plus your family. As part of our commitment to providing quality care to your family and others, we do ask that everyone in the office follow certain conduct guidelines.

• We will provide an environment that is clean, safe and welcoming.
• We will treat your child and you with respect, courtesy and kindness.

We ask that our patients and families do the same. We reserve the right to dismiss a patient/family if any of the following occur:

• Disruptive or rude behavior (physical or verbal) towards any employee or other patient(s) in the clinic;
• Destructive behavior that damages clinic property;
• Taking photos or videos while in the office without the consent of the staff member or provider;
• Bringing weapons into the office;
• Non-payment of responsible charges;
• Misrepresentation of any medical history, insurance information, contact information or identity of the patient or parent/guardian;
• Non-compliance regarding major health issues/care; or
• Violation of any office policy.

In the case of a parental separation/divorce/custody concern, our main focus is to provide the best care for the patient.

• We will assume that the parent who accompanies the patient to the office has full or joint legal custody allowing full medical decision-making, unless we have legal documentation stating otherwise.
• We ask that parents communicate with one another to discuss the child’s healthcare. We will discuss the care plan with the parent who accompanies the child and, in the case of either electronic or phone call contact, with the parent who contacts us. Unless we have legal documentation that a parent may not receive information, we will be happy to discuss care with either parent.
• Centennial Pediatrics of Spokane will not be placed in the middle of domestic issues or disagreements over the phone, via electronic communication or in the office.
• If the parental dynamics become disruptive to our office, staff or other patients in our practice, or if there is non-compliance with this policy, we reserve the right to dismiss the family from the practice.

Please be aware that the decision to dismiss a patient/family is not one that we come to lightly. We appreciate your help in maintaining a safe, supportive and welcoming environment.

We work hard to not overuse antibiotics.

Not all illnesses require antibiotics, and in some cases, antibiotics can even result in more side effects or issues. We take the time to educate families about whether or not an illness requires antibiotics and prescribe them appropriately. 

• Our website has some useful resources and information to address commonly-asked questions and concerns.
• We also have a patient portal through our electronic medical record. This allows our patients' families to communicate with us about non-urgent medical issues through a virtual platform. Parents find this especially helpful to send photos of rashes, etc. We encourage all of our families to get registered for the portal as this is a great way to communicate.
• Additionally, we offer telemedicine appointments. If a telemedicine appointment is appropriate for your child's concern, our front office will get you all the information you need. 

As medical professionals, we 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. We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We are more than willing to discuss any questions you may have about vaccines and provide information about the vaccines, but do require all new patients to our practice to adhere to the vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) unless medically contraindicated.

• We believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.
• We believe in the safety of vaccines.
• We believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics  (AAP).
• We believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
• We believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can support as parents/caregivers.

The recommended vaccines and the schedule of administration are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

As a pediatric office, we will not uncommonly have patients or family members who are immunosuppressed or unable for medical reasons to receive certain vaccinations. It is our job to take the best care of all of our patients, and for this reason, we ask that patients who can receive vaccinations do so to protect those around them. For these reasons, we require our patients to commit to receiving the recommended vaccinations and, if needed, schedule catch-up vaccinations. We will work to create a schedule to bring your child up-to-date within 6 months. In this case, we can utilize vaccine-only visits which, depending on your child's insurance, could incur additional copays. 

As a practice, we will not sign vaccine exemption forms for personal or philosophical reasons. The state of Washington requires all children who are 4 years or older enterring into daycare/preschool to be up to date with the MMR vaccine.