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Frequently asked questions
Well visits are covered by insurance plans and you will not be billed for them. However, if your child had an active illness during the visit, or the visit focused on an acute issue for an extensive period of time, insurances will view this visit as a well visit and a sick visit. The bill was for the sick visit portion. We always try to accomadate the visit and see your children in a timely fashion. Ideally we like to avoid asking you to reschedule to discuss these active issues. However, sometimes these visits extend beyond the scope of a standard well child visit.
Our office is a small family run office. We will call you directly when we have clinically relevant abnomral lab results. We will discuss plans and next steps, often without you needing a second visit to the office. If labs are completely normal, we will not call you. Note - sometimes there are small abnormalities that are bolded in red, but do not signify a medical issue in your child. These are minor items that do not play a role in your child's health. If you have questions about this, feel free to call us or contact us through the portal. There are two ways you can check the labs yourself: You can make a patient portal at LabCorp: You can also sign into your Athena Patient Portal:
After every visit, doctors write a medical note in the Athena computer system. We have an app on our phones that can listen to the visit and transcribe part of visit into the Athena computer system on the doctor's behalf. The doctors can edit this note if AI recorded something inaccurately. The remaining part of the note still needs to be written by the doctor. This is a time saving technology and helps the doctors remember all of the topics that were discussed during the visit. You can opt out of this technology if you wish.
We believe in the power of vaccines and support the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule of vaccination. We are amenable to having some additonal time between vaccines. If requesting an alternate vaccine schedule, vaccines need to be initiated no later than 4 months ofage.II. Children by TWENTY MONTHS of age are required to have the following:a. 4th DTaPb. 4th HIBc. 4th PCVd. 3rd Polioe. 1 MMRf. 1 VZVIII. Children by FIVE YEARS of age are required to have the following:a. 5th DTaPb. 2nd MMRc. 2nd VZVd. 4th Polio
Upon entering Kindergarten or elementary school you will need a school physical form completed.If you change counties, you do NOT need a new school physical form. Virginia public schools use the same standard Commonwealth of Viriginia School Entrance Health Form across all school divisions and countiesThe initial school entrance physical exam must have been completed by a licensed provider within 12 months prior to first entering public kindergarten or elementary school.
The online portal is an easy and fast way to get health information at your fingertips. The online portal allows you to:Retrieve lab results Receive reminders on important overdue testsView personal health informationUpdate demographic information such as phone numbers and contactsBrowse health facts and informationView your biling statements and balanceMake secure credit care paymentsRequest prescription refillsRecieve alerts and updates from your physician Click here to get started:
In Virginia, a student-athlete needs a sports physical before any tryouts, practices, or athletic activities(including out-of-season conditioning) for middle or high school sports. Sports physicals are valid for 14 months from the exact date of the healthcare provider's signature on the medical evaluation form. The old rule where all physicals expired collectively on June 30 is no longer in effect. Please schedule your physical to be completed 6 to 8 weeks before the preseason or first tryout so records are updated and cleared without delay. If you have a well-child visit during this time period, you can use the same physical for this sports form. Be sure to talk to your provider during that visit so this form can be completed.
We try to bundle your child's care within the yearly Well Child visit. If you request a sports form or school form during the visit, we are happy to accommodate without any fee. If you have your portions filled out already and we have the form at the beginning of the visit, we can often finish the form before you even leave!
If you request a sports form or school form outside of this visit, we kindly ask for a $5 fee for each form and 5-7 days to complete it.
Please note, if your Well Child visit was greater than 12 months ago, we cannot accomodate this request. Instead, you need a regular Well Child visit and we can fill out these forms at that time. If you require a FMLA or Homebound Form: These will require a scheduled office visit in addition to a $10 form completion fee.
Virginia Pediatrics can help facilitate the transfer of medical records, but ultimately, parents/ guardians are responsible for ensuring this transfer is completed. Parents/guardians will need to sign a waiver with the prior pediatrician's office to allow the records to be transferred. Calling the prior practice is a good place to start this process. Out of state records may take additional time to obtain. Delay in obtaining records may delay vaccinations, school or daycare forms, medication management and contiuity of care.
Refills: ADHD medications are classified as controlled substances. Most insurances will only allow 30 days of medication at a time. All pharmacies require pre-authorization in accordance with state and federal regulations.As some children take medication daily, while others may take it less frequently, it is up to parents/guardians to call and request refills when needed. These are not automatically ordered. All requests need to be done SEVEN days prior to the last remaining dose. This allows review of charts, prior authroizations and pharmacy processing. Prescribing Provider: ADHD medication refills will only be authorized by the provider who manages the ADHD care to ensure appropriate medical management. If the primary provider is out of the office, the on call provide may authorize a refill if no recent changes have been made and the child is up to date on a well child visit. Provider Schedule: Dr. Amabel Sibal: Mondays and Fridays. Dr Carla King: Tuesdays and WednesdaysDr. Elizabeth Aarons: Thursdays Follow up Visits: New or adjusted medications: One month follow up to monitor side effects and effectiveness Stable doses: Three to four month follow ups to monitor for side effects, effectiveness. Refills cannot be fulfilled without dedicated monitoring.
We have a fairly regularly schedule for each provider. If you would like to ensure your next visit is with the provider of choice, here is some important information.Dr. Amabel Sibal: Available Mondays and Fridays. Sees ESTABLISHED patients up to 18 years old. Dr. Carla King: Available Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sees patients up to 21 years old.Dr. Elizabeth Aarons: Available Thursdays. Sees patients up to 21 years old. Cynthia Rubenstein, NP: Available select Mondays and Fridays. Does not provide ADHD care
Unfortunately, we have been experiencing a high volume of patients who No Show for their visits or who cancel immediately before their visit. This prevents other patients from being seen and is disruptive for our office. Effective October 22, 2026: We will be enforcing our new No Show Policy. One missed visit is understandable. We all have those days where life is unpredictable. Two missed visits within 12 months, we will issue a warning letter. Three missed visits within 12 months, we will issue a dismissal letter. This includes all siblings of the child as well. Of note- calling and cancelling an appointment less than two hours from scheduled time will be seen as a No Show. Thank you for partnering with us for your child's care. We look forward to serving you with dedication and attention.
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