Performance Pediatrics
Patient Newsletter

Winter 2010
In This Issue
Welcome Danielle
Scheduling Appointments
Record Request Form
HealthyChildren.org
This Emotional Life
Welcome Danielle
Danielle
We are excited to introduce the newest member of our Performance Pediatrics team: Danielle DiDomenico!

Danielle has joined Sara as a part-time receptionist and is happy to help our families with administrative needs. As always, Leann our office manager is also available to help resolve any administrative issues.

Our receptionists answer calls on weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM although we are closed from noon - 1 PM for lunch. Our receptionists also answer calls on select Saturdays when the office is open. After hours, do not hesitate to leave a voicemail message with any non-medical needs. An administrative staff member will respond the next time we are open.

All medical questions after hours must be called into 508-747-8229 to page Dr. McAllister or the back-up doctor. Details of our call policies and more can be found on our web site: www.PerformancePediatrics.com.
Call Performance Pediatrics Scheduling Appointments
We schedule routine well and follow-up exams up to 12 weeks into the future. In order to give our established patients priority, we call families 1 - 2 months before an exam is needed so that parents can book one of our popular Saturday or after-school appointment times before they fill up.

Performance Pediatrics is open by appointment only and cannot accommodate walk-in patients. We leave an adequate number of appointment slots each day to accommodate urgent-care needs. Our policy is to see patients with urgent-care needs the same day they call. It is best to call the office as early in the day as possible for an urgent-care appointment. When Dr. McAllister speaks with patients he determines through triage how soon a patient needs to be seen.
form Record Request Form
We have recently updated and posted online our Record Request Form. If you want a copy of your child's medical records (or for patients 18 and over), please submit a completed Record Request Form to us along with payment (if applicable).
logo HealthyChildren.org
Whether you have a question about a specific condition or are looking for general guidance, one of the sources we trust is the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP's new site, HealthChildren.org, is a great tool for finding useful information. We have added this site to the many trusted resources on the Helpful Links page of our website.
 
This Emotional Life This Emotional Life
PBS is currently airing a wonderful documentary called This Emotional Life. This 3-part series does a tremendous job of explaining the latest research and therapies for a number of mental health issues including anxiety, Asperger syndrome and severe depression. The series is hosted by Daniel Gilbert, Harvard psychologist and best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness.

If you weren't able to see the series on PBS, you can also view it online at http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/. We highly recommend it for all of our families, especially those dealing with anxiety, depression and other behavioral health concerns.
Terence R. McAllister
Terence R. McAllister, MD FAAP