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Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics
Newsletter
MAY 2010
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SIGN UP FOR THE PATIENT PORTAL!!!!
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The patient portal for Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics is up and running!!! This wonderful tool can be used to ask the providers non-urgent questions, schedule routine visits, view important parts of your child's health record and request refills on medications. To sign up you can either come into our office or visit our website www.wmpeds.com and go to the bottom of the home page where you will find a link to our enrollment form. Print it out, fill it in, and mail it to us. When we receive this information we will generate a user name and password which will allow you to get on to the portal.
There are a few important things to mention, however. First, in order to use the portal for any child over the age of 13, the child must come into the office to sign a form. This is to ensure that a child understands what the portal is and what information may be retrieved from the portal. For children under 15, the child will decide whether or not the parents can have access to the portal and can sign a waiver if they so choose. For adolescents over the age of 15, we as a practice have decided that only the patient will have access to the portal. We feel it is a golden opportunity for adolescents to start to manage their healthcare and to prepare them for the responsibility of becoming an adult. We hope that there will be dialogue between parents and teens about how to navigate the healthcare system and that adolescents will know how to obtain an appointment, ask a question, or get a refill on their medication by the time they move on to another provider. We know that some parents may feel that their child is too young to handle this responsibility, however we feel this is an opportunity to empower them. This is a recent decision, and therefore there may be some children over 15 who have given permission to their parents to access the portal. As of July 1st this access will go away and we will be distributing new user names and passwords to those patients affected.
As always, parents will be able to call for appointments, questions, or request refills on the phone. |
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"On Demand"- Watch WMPA on our Website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over this past year, many of our providers have put together videos on common childhood problems and conditions. We are excited to announce that you now have the ability to see these videos on our website www.wmpeds.com. Just visit the "Patient Education" link and go to the video section. If you haven't had a chance to look at them - please do - they are a valuable resource. Below are a list of the current videos and more are on the way.....
Asthma: Understanding Your Child's Asthma Plan How to Perform a Rapid Strep Test
Before Your ADHD Visit Helping Your Picky Eater
Concussion Basics Inattention and Its Causes
Concussion Prognosis The Irritable Baby
Croup and Stridor Demonstration Tick Bites and Lyme Disease
Fevers Toilet Training |
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0-5 YEARS OLD - WATER SAFETY IN THE SUMMER TIME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have been blessed with an absolutely beautiful spring and hopefully a wonderful summer. With the good weather comes plenty of time to play outdoors. This could be just playing near a backyard pond, having a picnic near a lake, or swimming at a beach or a pool. So this is a great time to think about water safety. In 2006, approximately 3600 people died from drowning of which about 1/4 were children under 14. Many more survived near-drowning and were left with significant brain damage and long term disability.
How To Protect Your Child
1) Provide Barriers and Supervision: Children under 1 year of age are most likely to drown in bathtubs, buckets, or toilets. Children between 1 and 4 years of age are most likely to drown in residential swimming pools. Most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time. Barriers including four-sided fencing which completely separates the pool from the house and play area and self-latching gates which can keep children out of the area when not given access by a responsible adult. Also, supervision is a must. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity while supervising children.
2) Swimming Lessons: Formal swimming lessons can protect children from drowning. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics feels that children under the age of four are not developmentally ready to learn to swim and should never be expected to be able to be safe in the water unsupervised. There are classes that will teach even toddlers to "float". Although this may be helpful, it certainly is not in any way a guarantee that your child will make that decision if he or she falls into the pool. Supervision is key.
3)Older Children: Older children are much more likely to drown in a natural water setting such as a river, lake or ocean. Many times they may not be paying attention to changes in weather, not wearing appropriate life jackets, or alcohol may be involved. Be sure to teach your older children about these hazards. |
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HEALTHY SUMMER EATING
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Summer is right around the corner. Just because school ends, life doesn't slow down. You still juggle kids' activities, work and family time - making it a challenge to eat healthy and control calories. Summer is a great time for the family to get outdoors, go for a walk, or even ride bikes. It's also a great time to get "unplugged" from the computer games, iPOD and the Wii.
Summer is also a time for parties and barbecues; a time when people get together and eat. Unfortunately, portion control is the furthest from our minds. This is a time when parents need to be role models and closely monitor their child's food intake. Food seems endless at parties, making it difficult to make the best choices.
Here are some suggestions of what to do:
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Parents should encourage their child to fill up on fruits and vegetables and not on chips.
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Wait until all the food is brought out and is served. Don't eat as each dish comes out separately
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Fill up your plate with 1/2 vegetables/fruit, 1/4 carbs or grains, and 1/4 protein
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When dessert is served, choose fruit as opposed to ice cream, cake or cookies
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If you are asked to bring a dish, bring a healthy choice of fruit, vegetables, a salad, etc.
BEWARE THAT AUGUST CAN BE A HIGH EATING MONTH!!!! The end of camps and the start of many family vacations can have an impact on how we eat; many of our healthy choice options are forgotten.
By exercising and eating right, your child can have both a fun and healthy summer. |
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6-21 YEAR OLDS: ADHD MEDICATION POLICY
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If your child has been prescribed medications for ADHD, there are some important practice policies that we would like you to be made aware of. At times, these policies may seem inconvenient, however they have been made to follow national health care guidelines on the management of ADHD.
- When your child is started on a new medication or if there is a change in dosage of medication it is required that we follow up in the office within 21 days of the medication change. This is to ensure that there are no untoward side effects from the medication and the medication is effective.
- We will only prescribe the necessary amount to get to the next visit when there is a medication change. We realize that often times your co-pay is the same whether you get 2 weeks or 4 weeks. However, when we do not follow these guidelines, patients do not come in until the prescription has run out. This is beyond that 3 week period that national guidelines recommend we follow.
- If you miss your appointment or cancel your appointment after a medication change, we will be unable to refill a prescription until you are seen. The monitoring of these medications is essential to good care.
- Follow-up for established patients who have been on a stable dose and are doing well is at the very least every 4 months.
This will be a change for some long-term ADHD patients. However, we feel it is in the best interest of all of our patients to adhere to these guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation! |
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Making Your Medical Home: New Mental Health Access Project
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We are excited to announce our latest project to improve your child's care. Dr. Hyde is spearheading the Mental Health Access Project at Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics. We have found that one of the most challenging aspects in mental health is actually finding a provider to start a therapeutic relationship with. Because many mental health providers are not taking new patients and because of various health insurance issues, it can be an exhausting project to find someone even to return your call. It also is very unsettling to start therapy with someone that you don't know and has not been recommended by someone you trust.
Thanks to those who participated in our recent Survey Monkey re: Mental Health Access. You have provided valuable information that we will use in our new initiative to improve the quality and experience of mental health referrals. If your provider feels you need to see a mental health specialist, you will receive a packet including information about this sometimes arduous process, a more complete referral list (in progress) and a 'Parent to Do List" to bring with you to help clarify the goals and plan of your visit. If you have problems obtaining an appointment our office will do their best to assist you. We are starting to pilot this new program June 1. |
| Prom is Here - Keeping your Teen Safe
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John Knight, MD is the founder and director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Childrens Hospital in Boston and has put together a wonderful website for parents on teen alcohol and substance abuse. The website, www.teen-safe.org has information on the relationship of alcohol and drug use to teen death as well as how teen brains are still developmentally immature leading to poor decision-making about alcohol and drugs. There is a great question and answer section as well as a quiz for parents to drive home the main points. Look at it today and keep your kids safe this prom season. |
| A Reminder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As many of you already are aware, all of the forms that our part of our well-child visits are now on the web at www.wmpeds.com. Soon, they will be filled out and electronically imported into the medical record via the patient portal. For now, many of you are bring in those filled-out forms, which makes the visit much more unhurried and enjoyable for all. Some of you fill out your forms and then forget them. PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR FORMS AND THEN PUT THEM IN A PLACE YOU WON'T FORGET - EITHER THE BAG YOU WILL BRING OR EVEN INTO THE CAR YOU PLAN TO DRIVE TO THE APPOINTMENT. This way all your hard work will be worthwhile. See you soon!!! |
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WMPA Sponsors New Pool in Dedham ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics has made a donation to the Dedham Community House New Pool Project to sponsor the office and first aid area. We are thrilled to be closely connected with DCH via Dr. Hyde, who serves on their Board of Directors. DCH is a community organization and their new pool will provide a healthy outlet for campers and other children in Dedham and surrounding towns throughout the summer. We at Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics are committed to serving communities both at home and abroad. For more information, see their website, www.dedhamcommunityhouse.org |
Reaching Beyond Ourselves
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Louisiana and Haiti
Fortunately and unfortunately, these 2 parts of the world have much in common. Mardi Gras, friendly people, French traditions, rich culture and great food. On the flipside, hurricanes and, in Haiti's case, earthquake are shared disasters. For South Louisiana, the oil spill has the potential to destroy one of the largest bird breeding grounds and seafood sources in the world. In fact one of our doctors worked in the Gulf on an oil pumping station just 20 miles from the present day spill. At Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics, we will continue to send support for both these areas. Let's keep these areas constantly in our collective conscience.
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