FAQ

The lot at our building is paid parking.  You can pay at the machine in the lobby with coins or credit card or by using the Hang Tag (from Impark) app. Be be sure to pay for your parking before making your way up to the office. We will not be held responsible for any tickets that are issued.  Parking spots can fill up quickly, so please allow extra time to find parking before your appointment.

Pediatricians are specialists who care for children of diverse medical and developmental needs from ages 0 to 18 years. A referral from a medical practitioner (i.e., family physician, nurse practitioner) is required for an appointment.

Please note that if your child has not been seen by their pediatrician in more than 12 months, a re-referral will usually be required.

Please note that most first consultation appointments are at least 1 hour in duration for medical concerns, usually 1.5-2 hours for behavioural, learning or developmental concerns. Please ensure that you have diapers and feeding supplies in case the appointment goes longer than expected. We also ask that only the child that is being assessed be at the appointment (which is also a requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain social distancing measures).

A step-by-step look at your appointment:

1. Check in with one of our lovely medical office assistants, Mark or Krizzy.
2. Wait for MOA Lindsay or Trina to call you to her station for measurements and vital signs; if your child is less than 12 months of age, you will be directed to the exam room where you can undress your baby down to their diaper so that an appropriate weight can be taken.
3. If your child is over 3 years of age, they will have their blood pressure taken; this is usually tolerated very well by all ages!
4. You will be directed to one of our exam rooms to wait for your visit with your pediatrician. Please note that all of our MDs do our best to keep on time and ensure that parents are not waiting. However, there are times our MDs may be running behind to help a family in need. We apologize in advance for times when this may occur and thank-you for your patience.
5. After your visit, stop by the reception desk to book a follow-up visit if this has been discussed with your pediatrician. Please note that our clinic only books appointments 3 months in advance.

No, our clinic does not provide after hours or walk-in services. However, Kaleidoscope Pediatrics is connected to the Calgary West Central Primary Care Network. As such, patients in immediate need can be referred for to the CWC Primary Care Centre for seven days a week, same day appointment service.

Available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays, this referral service provides an alternative to the walk-in system or a visit to the Emergency Room.

After hours service can be accessed via discussing with your pediatrician, office staff, or by calling Health Link Alberta at 8-11.

Our practice utilizes a physician on-call system for URGENT concerns. This also allows the laboratory or radiologist to contact our clinic should urgent results need to be related to a patient. This is NOT for scheduling/cancelling appointments or general questions. This is accessed by calling our main clinic phone number, and our answering service will assist you in reaching the physician on-call. 

Our clinic is committed to following the protocols set forth by Alberta Health Services and the province, in order to keep our patients and families safe.

1. Appointments are staggered so that there are not multiple patients present in the waiting room or common spaces to comply with physical distancing.
2. During the COVID-19 pandemic and in compliance with physical distancing we will only allow 1 parent/guardian to attend the appointment with the child. If needed a 2nd parent can attend by telephone.
3. Only 1 child allowed in an appointment. Siblings are not permitted.
4. Mask use is MANDATORY for everyone (except those children of a chronological, under 3 or developmental age that makes this impossible) while in our office.

This refers to either a video or telephone call appointment. Our electronic medical record supports a video platform that allows a visit to be done via confidential means.

Tips for your virtual appointment:

You will need:

• a webcam enabled computer, smartphone or tablet with good quality speakers, a microphone and a supported web browser
• an internet (wi-fi) or a phone data plan
• a strong internet connection
• an email account
• a quiet indoor space with little distraction and good lighting

1. Complete and submit any paperwork as instructed by your doctor’s office – preferably a day in advance. Your information is updated on your electronic health record, ensuring that your doctor has current and accurate information prior to your visit.
2. Take a moment to jot down any questions you have or symptoms you want to discuss with your doctor.
3. Have a pen and paper handy in case you want take notes from your visit.
4. Fifteen minutes before your call, test your audio, camera and internet connection to make sure everything is in good working order. (TIP: The confirmation email from your provider should have a “Test Your Connection” link to help you do this.)
5. Five minutes before your call, click on the link in the email provided by your doctor’s office. You may see a window pop up in your browser that asks for permission to share your camera. Be sure to accept/allow or your doctor won’t be able to see you.
6. Don’t be concerned if you don’t see your doctor on your screen when you “arrive” for your appointment. Just as in the clinic, you may have to wait a few minutes while the doctor is with another patient. In some cases, you may even see an administrator or assistant before your doctor arrives.

(Source: https://plus.telushealth.co/blogs/physician-pulse/en/tips-to-make-the-most-out-of-virtual-visits/)

If your child is coming to the clinic for a developmental/behavioural or learning assessment, please ensure to bring any previous assessments that may have been done (i.e. Speech Language Pathology, Psychoeducational Assessment, etc.) and/or report cards.

These can be scanned and sent to your child’s medical chart.

If you would like to send these in advance of the appointment, please upload securely on our website – HERE.

Yes. Please see the links below based on your child’s concerns. Some of these forms are also available electronically, so please contact our office if you would prefer to be e-mailed an electronic version (Please note that we use a secure e-mail service).

ADHD

CADDRA Teacher Assessment Form

CADDRA SNAP Form (For Parents and Educators)

CADDRA Patient ADHD Medication Follow-Up Form

PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN LEARNING, DEVELOPMENT, BEHAVIOURAL CONCERNS

https://www.cps.ca/uploads/issues/preschool-kindergarten-questionnaire-CWSP.pdf

ANXIETY

SCARED QUESTIONNAIRE (Parent and Child Version)

AUTISM

Toddler

Child

DEPRESSION/MOOD

https://med.stanford.edu/fastlab/research/imapp/msrs/_jcr_content/main/accordion/accordion_content3/download_256324296/file.res/PHQ9%20id%20date%2008.03.pdf

These documents can be brought to your appointment, or uploaded to your child’s electronic medical chart via our secure portal – HERE.

An ASQ is the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for children ages 3-66 months (5.5 years). It is a developmental screening tool that helps provide data regarding your child’s specific developmental milestone.

It can be completed here.

Photos and documents may be uploaded using our Patient Portal. The upload form should be used only by existing patients or patients who have already been referred to us for a pending consultation. An appointment should be booked to discuss the photos or documents that you upload, unless that discussion has already happened.

Our patient portal is accessed by inputting your child’s health care number and date of birth to securely connect to our electronic medical record.

Documents may also be faxed to 403-640-0710

Please call our clinic as soon as possible (> 48 hours from the appointment time) to cancel or change your appointment. Many children are waiting to be assessed by our pediatricians and most of our physicians have a waiting list. If an appointment is cancelled in a timely manner, a child in need can be booked into this appointment time.  If you cancel with less than 48 hours, you will be charged a short notice cancellation fee.

We ask all families to do their very best to arrive to the appointment about 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time. It is up to the pediatrician’s discretion regrading whether they are still able to see your child if you are late to the appointment.  We may be unable to accommodate families who arrive late, when another family has arrived on time or early.

Please note that you will be charged a fee for missed appointments. This is to discourage no-show appointments given the high demand for children to be seen by pediatric specialists.

Telephone prescription renewals, completion of most forms, and medical assessments requested by 3rd parties (e.g. sports physical, camp physical) are not “covered” by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.  Fees for these services should be discussed with your pediatrician.  If you require the service but cannot afford the posted fee, please discuss this with Kaleidoscope Pediatric Consultants staff or directly with your physician.  Payments by Dr. Palmer’s patients can be made on the Pay Your Invoice page on this website or by cash or cheque at the reception desk or by mail.

Kaleidoscope Pediatrics is proud to support medical student and resident education via the University of Calgary. As such, there will occasionally be trainees accompanying the doctor(s) in the office. Although it is within your rights to request that trainees not take part in the provision of care to you and/or your child, we strongly encourage our patients to support this arrangement by considering the trainees as part of the treatment team. Please allow them the privilege of contributing to your/your child’s care. Your child will be helping to teach the next generation of medical practitioners!

This is very dependent on the pediatrician and the issue for which your child was referred for expert advice. Children with complex needs are often seen ongoing by a pediatrician until they transition to an adult specialist.

Yes! Our colleagues in family medicine provide excellent ongoing primary care for their patients. Typically, we cannot provide short notice care for general check-ups or to assess a specific symptom (if it is unrelated to the reason your child was referred to the pediatrician). For example, if your child is followed at Kaleidoscope Pediatrics for asthma management and your child has a diarrheal illness that you feel warrants assessment, this would likely be best managed at your family doctor’s office.

This combined management between family physician and specialist is typically referred to as a “shared-care” model.

We recommend that you access the Alberta Find a Doctor website https://albertafindadoctor.ca/ . You can search by location to find a doctor in your area who is accepting patients. This service is also available by telephone via Health Link Alberta or by dialing 8-11.