Selecting Your Pediatrician

Congratulations on your pregnancy and welcome to the Department of Pediatrics.

The choice of a pediatric provider is a personal decision. Many of our patients review the websites of the individual providers and after reading the biographies are able to pick a pediatrician. This is certainly a much better method for selecting a pediatrician than "asking friends" since each family has different communication styles, ethnic backgrounds, and expectations as well.

We have a strong belief based on what parents have told us that personalized care is best for our patients. Personalized care means not only that our pediatricians are committed to providing service excellence, but that you and your baby will see your own pediatrician (who will be familiar with you and your child's medical history) on most occasions when you call in for both well care and sick visits. Our pediatricians are committed to personalized care and have developed systems which greatly enhance your ability to see your pediatric provider whenever possible.

Please follow these steps when you are making your selection:

• If your health coverage is through your employer or your spouse's employer, you will need to contact them to have your baby added to the plan.
• If your health coverage is not through an employer, please call Member Services at 1-800-464-4000 to have your baby added to your plan.
• AFTER your baby is born and given a Medical Record Number, you may make your pediatric provider selection by simply going to the Personal Physician Selection Website and selecting your local Pediatric Department. You can view the physicians with open panels and learn more about them before making your selection. You can also call the Member Outreach department to speak with a representative to help you choose a pediatrician.

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

This site may contain links to other web sites outside of www.permanente.net. Kaiser Permanente has no control over the content or the availability of these sites, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Web links are provided as an educational tool, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. A link or reference to a web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its contents. Any medical content that you feel may be important to your health should always be discussed with your Kaiser Permanente physician.