Practices & Policies
We are committed to providing our patients with the best pediatric care possible.
To that end, we have adopted several practices to ensure that your child or
children receive the best care. Here are some of our office practices and policies.
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All the scientific data to date support the idea that breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants. We strongly support breast feeding among our new babies, and have a lactation consultant available to our practice. Her name is Jan Barger RN. Jan will try to visit all our new moms who deliver at Central DuPage Hospital. She is also available by phone or for in-person consultations at her home office in Wheaton. We understand that not all new moms will be able to breast feed, and promise to support them as well.
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Perhaps the greatest medical achievement of the 20th century was the development of vaccines. At Wheaton Pediatrics, we believe strongly in the use of vaccines. We recommend all the usual childhood immunizations. If there is a non-medical reason why parents refuse vaccines, we will continue to serve them, but will ask that they sign a waiver explaining the risks of not vaccinating their child.
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We also believe in the judicious use of antibiotics. Therefore, we will not prescribe antibiotics for simple upper respiratory tract infections ("the common cold"), as these are caused by viruses and are not affected at all by antibiotics. We also will not prescribe oral antibiotics over the phone: if a child has a sore throat or ear pain, that child needs to be evaluated. Prescribing antibiotics without that child being assessed is simply not good medical practice. We also will not call in oral antibiotics for patients of ours who are out of town.
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Our goal is to be the medical home for your child/children. If you child has a complaint, please call us first. When the office is closed, there is always a provider available on-call, including holidays. Even if you are sure that your child needs to be seen in the Emergency Room or the Urgent Care, please call us or have the physician who attends to your child call us. We may be able to best serve your child by communicating with the ER or Urgent Care staff, and ensure that the proper tests or therapies are ordered, and ensuring follow-up
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We feel that all children need an annual physical from 2 years to 18 years old. Even if the child is "perfectly healthy," some serious health problems go undetected unless a medical professional looks for them: undiagnosed high blood pressure, inadequate growth, and borderline or frank obesity are some examples.
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If a child is on chronic medicine (i.e. asthma inhalers), they need to be seen more frequently than every year, usually every 6 months if they are stable, more frequently if the problem is not well-controlled. We often will not simply call in a refill for such medications unless the child has been evaluated recently, because many chronic conditions are constantly in flux. For example, children may benefit from having pulmonary function testing done in our office on a routine basis. Or their growth is such that the dose of medicine, which is often based on weight or height, may now be inadequate to control their symptoms. Or they may be misusing the medicine and not realizing it. Or newer, safer medicines may have come on the market that could replace their old ones. These are just some of the reasons that we like to keep a close eye on those children who are on chronic medications.
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We do not offer one on one prenatal consults, but we do offer a free prenatal group presentation. If there are known anomalies with the fetus, a phone call or private meeting with one of our providers can be arranged. If a parent is thinking of adopting, we can review records and give an opinion.
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Other policies can be found elsewhere on our website, most likely on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you have a specific question about a policy that is not answered on our website, please call the office.
