Well Child Check

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children receive regular well child checks. Children in their first year of life are generally seen every 2 months and then every 3-6 months in their second year of life. From the age of 2 and thereafter until transferring to an adult physician at age 18-19yrs, children are seen yearly for well child care.

Failure to bring your child in for the well child checks may result in dismissal from the practice. Please know that these check ups are necessary to monitor growth and development, review vaccination status, in later years to assess at risk behaviors, and are required prior to our staff completing any camp, school, or sports forms.

Well Check Ups Schedule:
  • 5 days (weight and color)
  • 2 weeks (growth and evaluation) 4 weeks
  • 2 months – 4 months – 6 months – 9 months – 12 months – 15 months – 18 months
  • 2 years – 18 years annually

Late arrivals

If you are more than 15 minutes late for your scheduled well child check up, you may be asked to reschedule. If you are late for a sick visit appointment, you will be placed in the next available slot.

Missed Appointments

We appreciate a 24-hour notice if you are unable to keep your child’s appointment.  If you fail to notify GUP and miss your child’s appointment  a letter will be sent advising you of the missed appointment and the need to reschedule the well child check up. If there is a third missed appointment by any child in your family within a 12 month period, your children may be discharged from the practice.

Vaccine Policy and Refusal Forms

Effective June 2, 2025 Growing Up Pediatrics updated their Vaccine Policy as follows:

Minimum Requirements by 24 months of age:

  • 3 DTaP’s by 18mos of age
  • 1 MMR by 24mos of age

The following vaccines must be up to date by 72mos of age:

  • 4 DTaP’s
  • 3 IPV’s (polio)
  • 3 Hepatitis B
  • 2 MMR
  • 2 Varivax

Parents choosing to not follow the recommended CDC vaccine schedule will continue to sign GUP’s Vaccine Refusal Form at each well visit that recommended vaccines are not administered.

Current patients of GUP who do not have the vaccines as outlined above will be given until July 1, 2026 to receive at a minimum 2 DTaP’s or Tdap’s depending upon their age and at least 1 MMR. Patients who fail to receive these vaccines without a verifiable medical exemption will be dismissed from the practice and will not be allowed to return to the practice until their vaccines meet current GUP policy. All other vaccines as outlined in GUP policy MUST be received by patients > 72mos of age by July 1, 2027 or patients will be dismissed from practice.

Current patients are encouraged to schedule an office visit/ phone visit to discuss their individualized vaccine plan which will be signed by both parent and GUP provider and placed in chart.

Providers will discuss the vaccine refusal form at the first well child check during which your child does not receive all of the recommended vaccines per the CDC guidelines. If parents decline to sign the form on that day they will be given  30 days to further review and then sign the form. If parents continue to refuse to sign the form, their children will be dismissed from Growing Up Pediatrics, PA.

School/daycare, camp, or sports forms

We do not charge for forms completed at the patient’s well child check and we make every attempt after the age of two to give the parent a generic form as well as a copy of the child’s vaccine record at each well child check.

All forms excluding Kindergarten forms presented to the office at other times will be completed for a $10 fee that must be paid prior to the release of the form. If you fax or mail the form, please include payment. Also, please complete any portion of the form that requires parental/child information as we will only complete the medical portion of the form and our providers will not sign the form until it is fully complete.

Your child must have had a well-child checkup within the past year for our providers to complete any forms. Please allow 3 business days for the completion of forms.

Medication Forms

There is no charge for medication forms. We ask that you complete all parent/child information prior to leaving the form for provider signature at our office.

ADHD Medication Refills

If your child is on medication for ADD or ADHD, please note that these medicines cannot be called in to a Pharmacy but a written prescription must be picked up.  We need 24 hours’ notice to have the prescription ready for you.  Also note that the child needs yearly checkups and ADHD checks every 3-6 months (between check-ups).

After hours phone calls

There is a fee for after hours phone calls if a patient is older than six months, has not been seen in the office in the past 7 days, or is not seen on the next business day following the call. If you would like to avoid this $10 fee, you may seek advice from our web resources or by calling the 1-800 number on the back of your insurance card as most carriers have a triage service.

Records

There is no charge for vaccine records and growth charts. The charge for all other records is based on the number of pages needing to be copied and our staff will provide you the information regarding the amount of this fee prior to transferring records.