New Patients
We are excited to bring Sugarloaf Pediatrics under the NAP umbrella as of July 1st, 2024.
Please click here for the most frequently asked questions and here for the MGB Sugarloaf Pediatrics to NAP Release form .
As of November 2022, Northampton Area Pediatrics has temporarily paused accepting new patients outside of newborns. We need to take this time to ensure we are giving our current patients the care they need.
How to Register to Become a New Patient
Choosing the right pediatrician for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. By selecting Northampton Area Pediatrics, you can feel confident and comfortable that you have made the best decision.
Our practice works together to build life-long relationships between our staff and our patients by consistently treating families with compassion and maintaining excellence in clinical care. To fulfill this mission, we are committed to:
- Improving the lives of the children we serve by providing quality care in a patient-centered medical home.
- Listening to our young patients and their families whom we are privileged to serve.
- Guiding our patients along a path of optimal health and wellness.
- Continually pursuing excellence at all levels through continuing education.
What to bring to your first visit
We work hard to ensure that your child receives prompt medical care in a comfortable, child-friendly office setting. To help expedite the first appointment, we ask that you please have any prior medical records, including immunization records, sent to our office at least 48 hours in advance. Please arrive a few minutes early to complete paperwork regarding your family medical history, your child’s medical history and insurance information.
The Importance of Having a Primary Care Provider
Primary Care Providers (PCP) at Northampton Area Pediatrics are specialists in general pediatrics who provide preventive care and manage many types of acute and chronic medical conditions for their patients. The PCP is your primary point of contact for any questions or concerns about your child’s health and will advocate for you in meeting your child’s health care needs.
NAP believes that routine health care encounters for well checks, and management of chronic medical conditions should occur with your PCP. This model allows families to establish a personal relationship with their PCP over multiple encounters, improving safety and efficiency in your child’s care. Your PCP will consider your family’s goals and needs and is responsible for providing you with continuous, comprehensive, and individualized health care.
To learn more about our Providers, please visit Our Providers page.
What to Expect
When you come to our office for the first time, you will be greeted by one of our receptionists. Please feel free to ask questions about the practice. One of our clinical staff member will then escort you and your child into an examination room where she or he will ask the reason your child is visiting the doctor that day.
The clinical staff will next take measurements and vital signs such as your child’s temperature, blood pressure, height, and weight. You may be asked to help your child undress and change into a gown so that the Provider can perform the examination more easily.
Next the Provider will come into the examination room accompanied by an assistant who is a Medical Scribe. The scribe will type answers to additional questions that the Provider may ask as well as type in what is found on your child’s physical examination. If you would prefer to see the Provider without a Scribe present, please do not hesitate to tell us.
At the end of your child’s examination, the Provider may have the clinical staff member return to the examination room to give medications, administer vaccines, etc. In keeping with our philosophy to listen to our patients and provide information to allow them to maintain optimal health and wellness, each member or your child’s care team will explain the procedure or medication administration prior to doing it. If you have questions at any time please do not hesitate to ask about any aspect of your child’s health care.
Technology
At Northampton Area Pediatrics we stay at the forefront of medical technology to better serve you and your children. We have had an electronic medical record (EMR) since 1999, long before this became the standard of care. An EMR helps us maintain a database of information about your child and allows all providers to have access to this information. For example, if you call in after hours for advice, the on-call doctor can access your records from home. Also, if your child needs care at the emergency department at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, we can access this information and then share it with the ED doctors no matter what time of day it is.