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.

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. 

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.

The following details are updated policies that will be applied as of September 15th, 2025.

Copays and Returned Checks:  

Copays are required at the time of service. A $10 service fee for copays not paid on the service date will apply. You can avoid this charge by adding a card on file to ensure the copay is paid for on the service date. There is a $25 charge for any payments returned for non-payment. These fees may be waived at the discretion of the practice or based on insurance contracts. 

After Hours Advice: 

Our providers and trained staff provide medical advice during business hours. When we are closed, we contract with a third-party after-hours triage service to assist with this. If you choose to utilize this service, there is a $20 fee per call.  Most insurance companies have their own nurse triage line that can be utilized at no cost. The number is usually on the back of your insurance card.  Please refer to our website under Office Info & Forms for additional information about contacting someone after hours and on weekends/holidays.

Missed Appointment or Late Cancellation: 

Missed appointments or late cancellations affect not just our providers and staff but, most importantly, access to appointments for other patients. If you fail to show for an appointment or provide less than 1 business day’s notice to cancel or reschedule, there will be a fee of $50 for each appointment missed. If you are more than 10 minutes late for a scheduled well check, you will be asked to reschedule and be charged a $50 fee.  Upon the family’s 3rd appointment missed or cancelled with less than 1 business day’s notice, the office reserves the right to dismiss the family. We do not take dismissals of patients lightly. If you miss or late cancel a circumcision appointment, there will be a $150 fee. These fees may be waived at the discretion of the practice or based on insurance contracts. 

Forms/Specialty Letters:  

We encourage you to get forms that are needed for school or camp participation completed at the time of your appointment.  If these forms need to be completed outside of the appointment, they will incur a charge that is not reimbursable by insurance companies. 

Forms include but are not limited to Sports/Activity Clearance, Camp Clearance, Asthma Plans, Allergy Plans, Digestive Plans, and School Medication forms. 

Our staff/providers are happy to complete your form(s) during your visit. Forms must have your portion completed and presented to staff either before the appointment date, at check-in, or when taken back to the exam room for them to be processed at your appointment. Forms are uploaded to the patient portal if you have a staff member scan them before leaving. Please make sure this is done to avoid a future fee for re-completing the form. 

Requests for forms outside of a visit will be completed within 3 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. Expedited processing is 1 business day, excluding weekends and holidays, and is the form fee plus a $20 rush processing fee. 

Standard turnaround form/letter fees are as follows per patient, and payment is due at the time of the submission/request. 

• One Form: $10

• Two Forms: $15

• 3+ Forms: $25

There is no charge for notes provided to school, work or daycare for illness-related visits when completed at the time of the appointment.

For forms to be completed, your child's well visit with us must have been done within the last 12 months for those over the age of 3 years. Patients under 3 years of age need to be current on their visits according to the AAP’s recommended well child check schedule. These fees may be waived at the discretion of the practice or based on insurance contracts.

FMLA/Disabled Parking Permits:

FMLA/Disability Paperwork is $30, and due to the complexity, a minimum of 3 days for completion is required. Rush processing is not an option. 

There is no charge to complete a disabled parking permit form. However, we require 3 business days to process this request. These fees may be waived at the discretion of the practice or based on insurance contracts.

Immunization Forms: 

A record of administered immunizations is available on your child’s patient portal (accessed via our website or mobile app).

If you need an official Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS), which most schools and daycares in Washington State require for enrollment, please follow the set-up process for MyIR on their website, myirmobile.com. 

You may send us a request via phone, email, or portal message so we can retrieve the CIS for you. Allow 3 business days for processing. If you need it sooner, there is a $10 administrative fee per patient per request. These fees may be waived at the discretion of the practice or based on insurance contracts.

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. 

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.