Anchor Pediatrics in Lincoln and Anchor Medical in Providence offers a limited number of appointments on a daily basis for COVID assessment. We give priority to symptomatic patients or patients who have been exposed to a positive COVID case. We do not do testing for travel purposes. Our tests might not be free, depending on your insurance and depending on the reason for testing.

If you would like to try to schedule a COVID test here at Anchor, please contact your providers office.

The Rhode Island Department of Health will likely call you if you have a positive test. Please note, no official contact tracer from the Department of Health should be asking for your social security number or financial information. Do not give such information out to someone stating they are a contact tracer or department of health representative.

After years of research, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recognized chronic care management (CCM) as one of the critical components of primary care that contributes to better quality of health for individuals. As a result, our practice has established a comprehensive CCM Program that follows CMS recommended guidelines. The CCM Program is designed to help you understand the day-to-day management of your condition, provide you with a plan of care, and improve your quality of life. CCM Program services do not require an office visit and include 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week access to a health care provider in your Provider’s practice to address acute chronic care needs; coordinate your overall care with other healthcare providers; and to help assure you receive timely preventative care services.

We expect that your participation in this program may help us care for you better, with less need for office visits and the associated copayment and deductible costs. If you would like to read more, or join the program see the Chronic Care Agreement.

Nothing here yet

SPORTS CLEARANCE EXAMS

Many insurance companies do not pay for sports clearance exams and we have no way of knowing if your particular insurance plan will exclude this exam and instruct us to bill you. Please contact your insurance company and inquire if a sport clearance exam will be covered and if a deductible will be applied.

Some insurance companies will pay for an annual routine physical each calendar year, but others insist that 12 months elapse from the last physical before they will pay for another one. We don’t know which practice your insurance company follows. To avoid surprise bills, we ask that you check with your insurance company if you schedule a physical less than 12 months after the last physical.

At your child’s annual physical, we will complete a form which may be used for clearance for sports, school and employment. That form meets the requirements established by the RI Department of Health, and is accepted by all schools and many, but not all, sports programs.

As a courtesy, if an outside organization insists on their form, we will complete the form at the time of your child’s annual physical so please bring all forms that require a provider’s signature to your appointment.

We do not charge for copies of your child’s most recent annual physical.

Unfortunately, some sports organizations (particularly popular football and cheerleading programs) insist that physical forms be completed after January 1st of the current season. These organizations typically do not accept the Department of Health standard forms, and often will not accept the forms dated in the previous calendar year. (It is our impression that some of these popular football and cheerleading programs provide their physical forms to participants the day of the first practices, and insist that they be completed immediately. This puts a significant strain on our office.)

If we are asked to sign a sport’s clearance form – our signature involves insuring that your child can safely participate in sports. If it were a mere formality, the sports organization would not insist on a medical provider signature. Our signature indicates that we have examined your child, and reviewed their record to ensure that medical conditions or recent medical events (such as a concussion or fracture – even if treated elsewhere) do not prohibit sports participation.

In some cases (typically if your child has been seen by us for a sick visit requiring a physical or routine physical exam during the current calendar year), we can use that visit as a sports clearance visit. In these cases, we charge a nominal fee to review the chart and complete the form.

If your child has not had a visit during the calendar year, in order to complete the sports clearance form, we must see your child and do a complete exam and take a relevant history. If that is the sole reason for the visit, then we must bill this as a sports clearance exam. We are unable to charge differently, without opening the practice to charges of fraud.

Nothing here yet

Nothing here yet

Nothing here yet

Nothing here yet