What do I do if I need advice when the office is closed?
As of April 1, 2025, the options will be:
Option #1: Utilize the nurse advice line offered by your insurance company. Most, if not all, insurance companies offer a free advice line to their subscribers. It’s worth mentioning that this option is not pediatric-specific. The number can typically be found on your insurance card or their website. Some insurance companies send us records of calls made by our patients, but not all of them.
Option #2: You can still call our main office number, 509.448.PEDS(7337) and select the prompt to be connected to the after-hours option. Most of the time, you will leave a message for our experienced pediatric Medical Assistant, who will return your call within 30-60 minutes. They are also in contact with Dr. Lee, Dr. Thompson, or Dr. Carlson if necessary. Because we provide this service “in-house,” we can access your child’s medical record and document the encounter. You may also send a web encounter through the patient’s portal. We will answer through the portal unless you specifically state that you’d like a return phone call in your message. Please note, this is not an extension of our regular business hours, and any messages left on this voicemail or web encounters that are requested to be answered before 8 am or after 4:30 pm Monday through Friday (unless we are closed) will incur a fee.
If necessary, we will still utilize Triage4Pediatrics, where you will leave a message for experienced pediatric Registered Nurses who will return your call within 30-60 minutes. They will collect some demographic information and other pertinent information regarding your needs and advise you on “what to do.” They are also in contact with our doctors if necessary. This service automatically sends us a record of each call they receive regarding one of our patients. This way, we will know when, why, and what advice is given. Triage4Pediatrics only provides urgent triage service (advice) for us. They cannot access our EMR or your child’s medical record. They will not, for example, be able to complete a sports physical form for you or look at their immunization history. We encourage you to utilize the patient portal to see if that information is available.
If you choose option #2, your portion of the expense will be $15* per call in most cases. We always encourage you to use after-hours for urgent things that can not wait until we are open. We will send a statement and note “triage call” as the reason. It may be included on a statement for other services rendered in the office.
Triage4Pediatrics will charge an additional $4 after three failed attempts to reach the caller. Please answer their call, even if you no longer need their service, to avoid the extra $4 being passed on to you.
There are great resources under the “Services” tab. Select “Sick Child,” which includes Tylenol and Ibuprofen dosages and a symptom checker. If your child recently received immunizations, the packet we gave you has information about common side effects. You can also find resources under the Immunization tab.