Childhood Health Associates of Salem is a group medical practice dedicated to the medical care of children. All physicians are board certified in pediatrics. Our clinic has a greater than thirty year history in Salem caring for children. Additionally the doctors of Childhood Health are on staff at Salem Hospital and care for newborns and ill children requiring hospitalization.

Office Hours

Monday to Friday 8 a.m. — 8 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. — 2 p.m.
Sunday Variable
(On Fridays we close from 12 noon — 2 p.m.)

Office hours are by appointment only. Hours may vary slightly depending on the season so please don’t wait until closing to make an appointment or come by the office to pick up paperwork. If immediate assistance is needed for a medical emergency please call 911. For other urgent health related matters when we are closed please call us at 503-364-2181. A nurse will gather information about the situation and inform you of the best course of action. A nurse will notify a pediatrician if needed. Please keep in mind that our after hours phone service is available for urgent situations only. Issues that are not urgent are better left for regular office hours when staff can devote more time to answering your questions and have access to your child’s medical records.

Telephone Calls

General questions and appointments 503-364-2181
Nurse advice line 503-364-2181
Billing concerns 503-364-0227

Our staff makes every effort to provide excellent telephone service to our patients. Unfortunately, there are times when phone volume is exceedingly high. For your own convenience, you may want to consider calling our office after 10 am with non-urgent questions. Also, for non-urgent health matters consider consulting our printed “Red Book” available for free at our office or online here on our website. After regular office hours, routine health questions are answered by Legacy Emanual Hospital’s nurse triage service. A physician is on call at all times.

Appointments

Office visits are by appointment only. When making an appointment be sure to give the scheduler enough information such that they can schedule enough time for all of your child’s health care needs to be addressed. If for any reason you are unable to keep your appointment, please call at least 24 hours in advance, or as soon as you know you need to cancel. This will allow us to use the time slot for another patient who urgently needs attention. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for an appointment, you may be asked to reschedule appointment. If you are repeatedly late or fail to show up for a scheduled appointment, we may ask you to seek care at a different clinic.

Seeing My Child’s Primary Provider

Every effort is made to schedule you with your child’s primary care provider. We believe that seeing the provider who knows your child best will ensure the best quality health care. However, there may be times when we are unable to accommodate your request, such as same day appointments or on weekends and holidays when only one physician is scheduled to work.

Computerized Medical Record

Our office was one of the first offices in Salem to use a computerized health record (EMR). We have been using an EMR product called Healthmatics which is supported by Allscripts for more than ten years. Health information is stored on a central computer in our office accessible by computers and wireless handheld computers by our staff. We take the security of our patients’ information very seriously. Health information is protected by periodic back-ups that are stored off-site and out of state. We have a very large number of patients such that it was becoming impossible to always have ready access to our patient’s information when we were working with paper charts. Now with every phone call or office visit your child’s medical information is both available and easily and quickly documented, minimizing errors and overall improving patient care.

Fees and Billing

Our office accepts many insurance plans including the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). If your child is insured by OHP then they must be enrolled in the Marion-Polk IPA managed plan and not CareOregon as we are not currently accepting CareOregon insurance. Call your OHP case worker to make the switch.

Our fees are based on the type of visit your child needs and what your child was seen for. The more complex the issues involved and the more time spent, the greater the charge. Our fees are based on national benchmarks established by Medicare and supported by insurance companies. Regardless of insurance, patients are responsible for payment of their accounts. Be sure to give us accurate insurance information at every visit so we can bill your insurance promptly on your behalf. Our office bills primary and secondary insurances. Please be prepared to present your child’s insurance card at every visit and to pay any necessary co-pays at the time of service. We will also give you an opportunity to make payment on any existing balance when you arrive for check-in.

The Business Office is available at 503-364-0227 weekdays 8 a.m.–4 p.m. to discuss any billing concerns you may have.

If your insurance requires you to list a primary physician for your child make sure this is done before your appointment or you will be asked to reschedule. You can see any provider in the office as long as one of the providers from the office is named as your primary physician. Patients whose insurance includes a co-pay are expected to make the co-pay at the time of service. If your insurance company does not pay promptly, you may be asked to pay the bill.

Prescriptions refills for many prescriptions can be done over the phone. We utilize an electronic prescribing system which allows us to transmit prescriptions electronically to many area pharmacies. If you need refill on an established prescription, the fastest way is to contact your pharmacy. They will contact us electronically if authorization is needed. For more complicated situations and for controlled substances such as many of the ADHD medications, contact us directly to request the prescription. Please remember to leave all necessary information including a valid phone number so that we may contact you.

Leaving the Practice

It is our policy to provide care up to the age of 18 or high-school graduation, whichever comes later. Teens who have become parents will need to transition out at an earlier age. Exceptions to this policy require physician approval. If your child needs to transfer medical care for any reason be sure to request copies of medical records and shot records for a smooth transition. Requests can be made in writing at our front desk.

Getting Your Child Vaccinated

Vaccinations are often given during well child check-ups. If shots are needed at other times, try our Shot Clinic. Remember to call ahead and book an appointment for your child. Flu shots are seasonal and we schedule walk-in shot clinics on Saturdays early in influenza season once vaccine is available; we also offer flu vaccine during scheduled office visits or on a walk-in basis during the flu vaccine season any time we are open.

Allied Health Professionals

To improve our service to you we work along with Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNP’s) and Physician Assistants. These providers work with our physicians in the care of children. These staff can:

• Take medical histories, perform physical exams, make diagnoses, establish treatment plans, counsel and educate patients.
• Perform well child exams, order lab tests and prescribe medicines and immunizations.
• Refer children, when appropriate, to other physicians or health care professionals in the community.

HIPAA

In response to new privacy rules we have updated our policies to protect your child’s health information. A summary can be obtained from our front desk or on our web site.