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Pediatric FAQs Welcome to the pediatric section of our web site. Here we will cover the topics listed below. You can scroll down through all the topics, or you can click and jump to a specific topic.
Introduction and Philosophy of our Practice
Appointments and Schedule of Check-ups
Telephone Contact and On-Call Emergencies
Immunizations
Introduction and Philosophy of Practice
Dr. David Otto started in pediatric practice in Catonsville in 1983. Dr. Anne Dunlavey Lane joined the practice in 1985, and Dr. Sherri Smith Gruneberg, who has sign language skills, started in 2000. Finally, Dr. Annie Lin joined us in 2004. We are all board-certified in Pediatrics. Dr. Lin is also board-certified in Internal Medicine and will see our adolescent girls for gynecologic exams.
Our philosophy of practice is very simple. While we know a lot about pediatric health care, you know your child the best. Therefore, we should be engaged in a mutual effort to make health care decisions affecting your child.
We are prepared to offer quality health care for routine well visits, acute illness and chronic disease management. We have good relationships in the pediatric specialty community and can make referrals as necessary. Our goal is to remain a small group practice (three to five pediatricians), which allows us to build long-lasting relationships.
Appointments and Schedule for Routine Well Visits
We follow the schedule for well visits recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as follows:
1 to 3 days after hospital discharge
2 to 4 weeks
2, 4 and 6 months
9, 12, 15 and 18 months
Yearly thru age 6
Every 2 years until adolescence
Yearly during adolescence
We believe it is a good idea to see the same physician for well visits, but it is entirely up to you whom you will see. For urgent, same day visits, you will see a physician based on availability. For chronic, recurrent visits, try to see your regular doctor.
Telephones, Emergencies and After Hour Calls
During office hours, calls are triaged first by an automated system to sort out calls for appointments from calls for prescription refills, referrals, etc. If you need an appointment the receptionist will take your call and schedule it appropriately. The telephone receptionists are trained to triage calls for immediate attention, same day appointments, chronic and well-child visits and more. If your call is a question that the receptionist cannot answer, the physician will return your call, usually by the end of the day.
After hours, we use an answering service (410-879-2983) to take messages and page us. If the call is an emergency that can’t wait 15-30 minutes for us to return your call, go to the nearest emergency room or call 911. If your call is not an emergency, but can’t wait until the office is open, feel free to leave a message with the answering service and we will return your call.
Immunizations
The development of effective immunizations against serious childhood illnesses has been one of the greatest achievements in medical care. Their use has dramatically lessened the impact of serious childhood infections. We must remain vigilant, however, to maintain and improve this success. Keeping immunizations up-to-date is one of the most important things to do to keep our children healthy. Reliable information about current vaccines can be found at the following web sites:
www.aap.org American Academy of Pediatrics
www.cdc.org Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.ama-assn.org American Medical Association
The current immunization recommendations can be found on the American Academy of Pediatrics web site. Vaccine information fact sheets are available at the office. |
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