YOUR FIRST PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGY CLINIC VISIT

Please collect and bring the following information to your child’s first clinic visit:

All available prior laboratory reports, including blood tests and any other special tests
Written x-ray reports
Copies of physician notes or letters that you have, including reports from other physician consultations, no matter what the specialty
A list or the bottles of all current or recent medications.

You may FAX things to us in advance at (510) 450-5678.

It’s also very helpful to:

Bring the current names, addresses, telephone and FAX numbers, of each of the doctors your child has seen for the current problem
Make certain that your insurance information is up to date and that authorization for the Rheumatology visit has been obtained.

If your physician referred you, please call your doctor’s office to make sure they have sent the above information. Then call us at (510) 428-3304 (option #2), to make sure we have received it.

Where to find us:

The Rheumatology clinic is located on the 5th floor of Children’s Outpatient Center located right next to the parking garage on 52nd St. Take the elevator to the 5th floor and turn right after you get off. The offices are at the end of hall in suite 5100.

Appointment times:

New and follow-up appointments for you/your child are listed at the quarter hour. This allows 15 minutes for check-in, updating any needed registration paperwork, measuring weight and other vital signs, placing your child in a room and changing into a gown.

All new patient/consultation appointments are one hour. Follow-up appointments are 30 minutes. For any visit, always bring a list or the actual bottles of your current medications, and write down the number of remaining refills you have. Without this information, unnecessary and expensive prescription re-writing often is required. We always ask you for a family history about arthritis-related illnesses, so contacting other family members before your first visit may be helpful.

Staying up to date:

Please make sure that your home address, and home, work and cell phone numbers are current. Also check to be sure that the addresses of your emergency contacts and their telephone numbers are correct. Out-of-date contact information can result in information being sent to the wrong address.