FAQs

A Pediatrician is a physician who specializes in children and their development throughout childhood and adolescents, in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of children’s illnesses. They are specialists in diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders of childhood. Both of our physicians are board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. To find out more about our physicians please visit the Doctors section of this Web site.

Click here for map and contact information.

We recommend that parents call at least 4 weeks in advance for arranging a complete physical exam to get the preferred date and time. For well-child visits that are often only months apart, we suggest that parents schedule their child’s future exams before leaving the office. Please call (713) 932-6261.

There are several items that we suggest people bring to their first visit. These include the following:

• previous medical records (especially immunization records)

• list of medications

• insurance card

• any co-pay amounts due

Do I have to pay my co-pay at the time of service?

Yes, co-pays are due at the time of service. In fact, we are obligated by our contractual relationship with the insurers to collect co-pays.

Please refer to our insurance page to review a list of accepted insurance providers.

As your primary care clinic we are responsible for delivering and coordinating all of your health care needs. Each insurance policy can be unique on their referral requirements. After a physician at Great Kids Pediatrics has referred you to a specialist, please check with your insurance company before going to see a specialist. We will refer you to a specialist in the network affiliated with your health plan. If you would like to see a specialist out of network please check with your insurance company first to get information on their coverage if any.

You can contact our nurses for advice via your child's patient portal. However, if you know your child needs to be seen, please go to the nearest urgent care or emergency room as needed.

If you are seen by an urgent care clinic or in an emergency room, please contact our office to follow up as necessary.

We continue to care for a number of college age adults when home from school, but as your child reaches adulthood we suggest that they begin seeking a physician that can meet their “adult” medical needs. The area of medicine that specializes in adult health care is called Internal Medicine. It is important to contact your insurance company to make sure that the physician you choose is a provider with your insurance company.

We are dedicated to providing the best possible health care for your children — medically, emotionally, and intellectually. We hope that your interactions with the clinic are always positive ones. We are always looking for ways to improve the level of service we provide. If you have a concern that you would like to share with us or would like to just make a suggestion, please call (713) 932-6261.

We do not believe it is in the best interest of either the patient or the clinic to give medical advice/treatment without the patient first being examined by a clinic physician for the issue at hand, but we have several useful references that may be helpful: Is Your Child Sick?

Yes, we always welcome new patients to our practice! Please see the list of insurances that we accept under the "Office Info-Insurances" Menu Tab. 

If your child is new to the practice and needs a well visit, please note that we need all prior vaccine records sent to our office before arriving at your first appointment. It would also be helpful to have at least the last well visit from your previous provider. 

This gives our doctors adequate time to prepare prior to your appointment and that means less wait time. Please confirm that your child's last well visit has been at least one year prior for insurance purposes. 

If the entire chart is unavailable in time, we ask that you please have your prior doctors office fax the vaccine records and last well summary to our office in the meantime. 

FAX: (713) 932-7229 

Thank you and welcome aboard!

Our office is open Monday through Friday. As our daily schedule is subject to change, please check our web site if you are unable to reach us.

To make an appointment please call our office. To ensure the best use of time, for both our physicians and patients, all of our office visits are by appointment only. We ask that you arrive at our office 5 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. If you are a NEW PATIENT we ask that you arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time.

This will allow you to complete any necessary paperwork and to update any demographic and insurance changes. 

If you must cancel an appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so we can offer that time to someone else. 

Emergencies arise. Someimtes there will be a delay in seeing you. If your schedule won't allow you to wait, we will be happy to reschedule your appointment. We do appreciate your patience and cooperation during our busy times and we will make every effort to keep your wait time to a minimum.

We have a nurse and physician on call 24 hours a day, please call (713) 587-5042 after hours only. This is for emergency purposes only and for current patients only. Refill of medications and referrals will not get handled after hours.

IN THE EVENT OF A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

Every effort is made to arrange your child's well care and follow up visits with the physician of your choice. When your child is ill, he or she may see any one of our physicians.

Our routine health maintenance visit schedule follows the American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine guideline for children. Please visit the well child visit page for a detailed schedule.

Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help ward off serious, and potentially fatal, childhood diseases. Making sure your child receives immunizations when scheduled is the best way to help protect your child from potentially fatal diseases. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. 

Please see our refill page for details.

Please allow 2-3 business days for all routine prescription refills. For prescriptions that require prior authorization from your insurance company, please plan ahead to allow at least three to five days for refill approval. Prescription refills are refilled Monday through Friday only.

To help protect your child from many serious infectious diseases, please see our IMMUNIZATION section for a complete list of recommendations. Please discuss your immunization questions and concerns with any of our pediatricians.

Yes, we promote breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding babies for the first six to twelve months. Breastfeeding helps defend children against infections, prevents allergies, and protects against a number of chronic conditions. While experts believe that breast milk is the best nutritional choice for infants, breastfeeding may not be possible for all women.

Some women have specific medical considerations that impede breastfeeding; others choose to feed by formula because of discomfort, work schedule, or lifestyle choices. In these cases, an iron-fortified, milk-based infant formula is a good alternative. We will gladly discuss your diet and feeding concerns at your child's well care visit, or please message our experienced nursing staff through your child's patient portal. Click here.

For non-urgent referrals: when one of our doctors refers you to a specialist and your insurance plan requires a referral from your primary care physician, please schedule your appointment with the specialist, then call our office within five business days of your appointment. Your referral will be available within 72 hours. Most referrals are completed electronically and submitted directly to the specialist's office. Please check with our office staff to determine if your insurance plan processes referrals electronically.

For urgent referrals: when one of our doctors determines that you need an urgent referral, your referral will be initiated immediately. Please remain in our office while your referral is processed, then proceed to your specialist.

You will receive a call quickly with any lab results that require urgent attention. Other abnormal lab results will be addressed promptly by the provider that ordered the labs or tests. Normal values are reviewed and addressed by the physician that ordered them. These normal results sometimes come through your child's patient portal.

We recommend that your newborn be seen in our office 1-2 days after discharge from the hospital. Our staff understands the importance of this first visit and will make every effort to schedule this visit promptly.

As all children are different, we advise following several appropriate steps to advance your child's diet based on age and development. Please discuss these steps with our providers at your well care visit.