24-Hour Nurse Line
Utilize the nurse line on the back of your health insurance card. This is a free service.
Policies & Forms
Learn about the important policies that help us provide your children with the very best of care.
Office Forms & Downloads
New Patient Forms
- Please download and complete these forms prior to your first appointment.
- Patient Registration
- Authorization for Release of Medical Information
- Assignment of Benefits
- Financial Policy
- Consent To Treat Minor
- NHIIS Opt-In-Out
- Notice of Privacy Practices
- Self Pay Agreement
For Patients 18+ Years
School Forms
- New Hampshire Early Childhood Health Assessment RecordFor use through Grade 3
Insurance & Billing Policies
We are committed to providing you and your children with the highest caliber of care. As part of your relationship with Puddle Dock Pediatrics, it is important that you have a clear understanding of our financial policies, as well as your financial responsibilities.
It is Your Responsibility
- To know the limits and coverage of your particular health insurance policy
- To show your cards to us at each visit
- To pay any copayments or deductibles at the time of service
Our billing staff will do their best to assist you with insurance questions; however, if you have questions about your coverage, it is best to check with your specific insurance company.
Payment Methods
We accept cash, check, credit cards, and Health Savings Account (HSA) cards for payment.
Credit Card on File
As a convenience to our patients and to simplify the billing process, we recommend the use of autopay to a credit card on file. Learn more by reading our complete financial policy.
Self-Pay/Uninsured
We are happy to work with families that prefer to pay directly for services or do not have insurance. For such patients, a time of service discount will be applied to the bill if settled in full on the day of service. This discount does not apply after the day of the visit.
The same discount will be applied to any non-covered charges for patients with insurance, if paid at the time of service. This discount cannot be applied toward the “patient responsibility” portion of covered charges, as those charges are already discounted through the contract we maintain with your insurer.
Insurance
- We accept the following insurance plans:
- Aetna
- Allways Health
- Amerihealth Caritas New Hampshire
- Anthem Maine
- Anthem New Hampshire
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Cigna (including Great West)
- Comprehensive Benefits Administrators
- Coventry
- Harvard Pilgrim
- Medicaid Maine
- Medicaid New Hampshire
- MVP
- New Hampshire Healthy Families
- N.H. Motor Transport Association
- Prime Health
- Three Rivers Provider Network, TRPN
- Tricare (Certified Out of Network)
- Tufts
- United Healthcare
- Well Sense Health Plan
Appointments Required
We make every effort to meet the needs of our patients by offering routine well child visits, as well as same-day sick appointments when at all possible – call or text the office to schedule a visit.
We do not offer walk-in visits.
Reminders
We gladly reserve appointment times for you and appreciate that you have chosen Puddle Dock Pediatrics for your care. As a courtesy, we will remind you of your appointment by calling and/or sending a text or email to remind you of your scheduled date and time. If we cannot speak to you directly, we will leave a message for you. However, in the event your mailbox is full or your line is busy, our efforts to contact you may be unsuccessful.
Cancellations
We respect our patients’ valuable time and we request the same courtesy from our patients. Please extend this courtesy should you need to cancel and/or reschedule your appointment. Missing an appointment without giving prior notice to the practice deprives other patients of the chance to take a slot that opens up.
We require notice of at least 1 business day for all cancellations. Failure to notify the clinic in a timely manner will result in a no-show fee of $50. After three no-shows or same day cancellations, your family may be dismissed from the practice.
After-Hours Care
If your child’s illness or injury is life threatening, call 911. This includes loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, seizure, etc.
When the office is closed, you have several options. You may want to look here for common answers to common complaints, as well as medication dosing.
Please note that medications will never be called in after hours.
Call (603) 457-7040
Call our office number and choose the prompt to be connected with the on-call provider. You may also choose the option to leave a message for non-urgent questions or to schedule an appointment. You will receive a call back when the office opens the next business day.
Secure Messaging Through Spruce
Spruce, our free HIPAA-compliant messaging service, is available daily until 10pm. Your messages will be replied to within 20 minutes. Note that you can also send messages through the patient portal, but portal messages are checked only during business hours.
Urgent Care
We always prefer you contact the practice before going to any urgent care or emergency room, as we may be able to save you that trip. If we determine that a higher level of care is needed, we will help you choose an option that will provide the best pediatric care for your child’s specific concern.
Vaccines save lives.
Our practice follows the schedule outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
For questions on specific vaccines, we recommend referencing the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center.
Resources
- Immunization ScheduleCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Vaccine Education CenterChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Vaccine Information StatementsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Vaccine Safety: The FactsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
Contact Us
Puddle Dock Pediatrics
200 Griffin Road, Suite 12A
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone / Text
(603) 457-7040
Fax
(603) 550-5244
Poison Control Hotline
(800) 222-1222
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Dial 988
www.988lifeline.org
Office Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday
By appointment only. Please call or text Dr. Smith by 10am if you would like your child seen for a same-day sick visit.
We require an appointment for your child to be seen. Please call the office to make an appointment or to speak with our team.
After-Hours Care
If your child’s illness or injury is life threatening, call 911.
For urgent matters that cannot wait until business hours, call or text our office and follow the prompts to leave a message for the on-call provider.
Public Transit
Take the COAST Bus #40 to Borthwick Avenue (High Liner Foods), then a 15-minute walk to 200 Griffin Road.
Patients with insurance through New Hampshire Healthy Families, WellSense, or AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire can request rides or reimbursement for transportation.