Information for Pediatric Neurology Patients and Families
Pediatric Neurology Service InformationMaking an Appointment
Referral Service
Pediatric Neurology is a referral subspecialty clinic. This means that all new patients must have a referral from their primary physician. Depending on your insurance, you may need a referral for return visits as well.
Our physicians always send a report letter to the referring physician; this letter summarizes clinical impressions and recommendations for further testing and treatment
New Patient Appointments
New patients are seen in the Pediatric Neurology Clinics on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, and on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, although this schedule is subject to change.
The clinical offices are located on the first floor of Taubman Center in Reception D.
New patients will often be evaluated by a resident physician or by a pediatric neurology fellow, and by a member of the faculty.
Return visits, when recommended, are always scheduled with the same faculty member or fellow whom you met on your first visit.
To schedule an appointment for a child we have not previously seen in Pediatric Neurology, please make sure a referral has been made by your child's primary care physician, and then call:
734-936-4179
If your child has been seen at the University of Michigan previously, please have your child's U-M blue registration card (with its eight-digit registration number) available.
If your child has already been seen by a pediatric neurologist in Mott Hospital, please inform our office clerks of this. They will need to review the medical records and attempt to schedule the appointment with the neurologist who evaluated your child previously.
We thank you for your patience when you call.
Return Visits
To schedule an appointment for a child who has been seen in Pediatric Neurology within the last three years, please call
734-936-4185.
Please have available:
- your child's U-M blue registration card (with its eight-digit registration number) and
- the name of your child's pediatric neurologist.
Depending on your insurance, you may need a referral from your child's primary care physician.
We thank you for your patience when you call.
Your Appointment
Getting Here
Park in the Taubman Parking Structure (letter A on the medical center map).This is the best place to park for your appointment and is attached to the Taubman Health Center, where your child will be seen.
The Pediatric Neurology Clinic is located on the first floor of the Taubman Health Center. If your child is a new patient to the University of Michigan Medical Center and does not have a valid University Hospital blue registration card, please plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to allow time to register. To locate the Pediatric Neurology Clinic, go to Reception D. Enter the clinic through the glass doors marked Pediatrics.
What to bring to your first appointment (New Patients)
Please bring the following items, as applicable, with you to your clinic appointment:
- X-rays, including CTs and MRIs, done previously at other institutions. If these are the originals, we will ask you to return them after the visit.
- EEG reports
- Copies of any written reports of treatment at other medical centers.
- If your child is coming for school-related issues, copies of reports resulting from evaluation by your local school district
- A referral or authorization for the visit from your insurance copy or primary physician, if required and if not already sent
Also, when coming to clinic...
- Write down your questions and those of other caregivers
- Make a list of your child's current prescriptions (name and dose)
- Note which prescriptions will need to be refilled PRIOR to your next return visit
- Bring your written observation log to share with the physician
- Write down your questions and those of other caregivers
- Make a list of your child's current prescriptions (medication names and doses) or bring all of the medication bottles with their labels
- Note which prescriptions will need to be refilled PRIOR to your next return visit (and remember to ask your doctor to write the prescriptions)
- Bring your written observation log to share with the physician
- A referral or authorization for the visit from your insurance copy or primary physician, if required and if not already sent
Prescription Refills
Bring all current medications or a list of all current medications including doses and frequency the medications are being given to your appointment. Please request any prescription refills that are needed at the time of your appointment. When prescriptions are written, we include enough refills to last until your next appointment so that you should not have to call the office for refills. Please do not call the emergency room or page the on-call resident for refills. Refills may be obtained by calling the office between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Please have the following information ready when calling for refills:
- Name of medication needed
- Strength of the medication
- The amount of medication you are currently giving
- How frequently you give the medication
- The name and telephone number of your local pharmacy
- How many days supply you have left
Prescriptions are usually called to your pharmacy by 4:30 PM on the day that you call our office, but please allow 48 hours.
If there is any discrepancy between the information you have given the office assistants and the information recorded on your child’s chart, the nurse will call you to verify the current information.
If your child has not been seen in the Pediatric Neurology Clinic within the past year, we will not be able to fill prescriptions unless a return visit appointment is scheduled. Your child’s prescriptions will then be refilled with enough medication to last until the scheduled appointment. Please call (734) 936-4185 to schedule an appointment. If there is a problem with scheduling an appointment, our office assistants may be able to assist you with the scheduling of this appointment.
Our telephone lines are often busy and you may be put in queue.
Laboratory and Test Results
We know you will be concerned about being informed of laboratory and other test results. When laboratory and other test results are received in our office, your child’s neurologist first reviews them. Parents are notified by telephone of any laboratory or other test results that are abnormal whenever possible. If we are unable to reach you by telephone we will send you the results and recommendations in the mail. Please call our office to speak with a nurse to discuss these results.
Routinely, an all-normal-results report will be sent to you in the mail as soon as possible or within 14 days after we receive the report. If you do not receive any results, please call the office and tell us the date and type of test and where it was completed. We will follow up and share the information with you. Certain tests and drug levels may require a longer period of time for processing. Many times the physician or nurse ordering the tests will know if the tests require a longer time, so please ask when you should expect to receive the results.
Please note that results of EEGs, CT Scans, MRIs and EMGs are generally not available to our office for five to six days after the test is completed. They are not available to us the day of the test or the day after the test. Once the results are sent to our office, the neurologist will review them. If the tests are normal, you will be sent the results in the mail. If they are not normal, then the physician or nurse will contact you with the results and recommendations.
If you do call the office before we have the results, the office assistants will take your message and when the results do become available and have been reviewed, the physician or nurse will telephone you.
Any results that the radiologist feels need to be acted upon urgently will be communicated to your child’s neurologist. You will be notified of those results as soon as possible.
Contact Us
Office phone number and hours- Phone number: 734-936-4179
- Hours: 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Fri
- After Hours Calls
Calls regarding medical questions
The Pediatric Neurology Service at the University of Michigan Medical Center includes staff physicians, resident physicians, nurses and office assistants. The nurses serve as primary coordinators for ongoing management of outpatient care, patient education, and telephone management. The office assistants are your first contact when you call the office. They help coordinate clinic activities.
In general, your appointment time is the best time to ask questions and gain information about your child’s condition and management plan. You may want to make a list of your questions and bring it with you to your child’s appointment.
If you do need to call with a medical question between appointments, please have available:
- your child's U-M blue registration card (with its eight-digit registration number)
- the name of your child's pediatric neurologist
- the names and doses of your child's medication
During business hours our office assistants will document your concerns and related medical information. Your message will be given to one of our nurses who will review your child’s medical records before returning your call. Telephone calls are returned in order of urgency, so please be patient. If you believe you child is experiencing a medical life-threatening emergency and needs immediate medical attention, call 911. If you believe your child is experiencing an urgent problem that is NOT a life threatening emergency, please tell the office assistant so that your call may be addressed appropriately. If you have a time that is best for the nurses to call you back, please tell the office assistant and every effort will be made to contact you at that time. Our physicians will generally not be available to speak directly with you about uncomplicated issues; however, each patient call is reviewed by your child's doctor and one of the nurses who will contact you to discuss your concerns. Each telephone conversation is documented and then reviewed by the child’s physician. Either the physicians or the nurses will communicate any new information or changes in the treatment plan to you.
Speaking with the Pediatric Neurology staff can be helpful when your child is having seizures or medication side effects. Seizures can be worse when your child is ill, we ask that you contact your Primary Pediatrician/MD first and if he/she feels you need to call our office, we encourage you to do so. Any other health concerns should be directed to your Primary Care Physician. Your child’s physician receives a letter following each evaluation by the Pediatric Neurology Service. This letter provides information about the evaluation; the findings and the recommendations for treatment and future follow up.
Calls after hours will go to the on-call resident or fellow.
On-call resident
In case of a medical emergency such as a prolonged seizure, call 911; do not page the resident or fellow on-call for Pediatric Neurology.
If your child has epilepsy, has had a seizure, and has returned to his or her normal status, it is not necessary to call the doctor on-call. If your child has a fever or flu-like symptoms and you feel that your child needs urgent attention, contact your child's pediatrician first.
The resident or fellow on-call for Pediatric Neurology can be reached evenings, weekends, and holidays through the University of Michigan Health System Paging Operator at 734-936-6267 primarily for urgent consultation regarding your child's neurological condition. Please note that the doctor on-call is not in the hospital and may not have access to your child's medical records.
- As noted above, on-going medical emergencies should prompt a call to 911.
- Prescription refill requests should be called into the office during regular hours.
- Routine prescriptions will not be refilled by the on-call physician who does not have access to the medical records. In unusual circumstances, a small supply of medication may be prescribed.
If you do call the on-call doctor, have your child's name, registration number, and neurologist's name available.
