What are the benefits to your practice? 

Mindful Pediatrics is solely me (Dr. Stanton) communicating and doing virtual care and visits with my limited number of families. No waiting rooms, no rushed visits, no talking to staff instead of the doctor, no medical providers who do not know your child, no competing with thousands of other patients, no having to conform to "cookie cutter" medicine. Instead, families will have an exclusive phone number and application to text, call and video the doctor. For well child appointments, families will get 1 hour of exclusive time with their pediatrician who truly knows their child and can provide individualized care. It is truly going back to the original doctor-patient relationship. This model of care, called Direct Primary Care, has many benefits. More time and direct access to your doctor has shown to improve health outcomes, decrease referrals, decrease urgent care visits, and provide better quality of care to keep patients more well. You will be amazed at the convenience and higher quality of care by having direct access to your child's physician.

I also provide wellness guidance and natural approaches to care because I have more time to address the whole child during appointments and I have training in nutrition and wellness. At Mindful Pediatrics, I can truly care for your child's mind, body, spirit and environment!

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What services do you provide?

I provide general pediatric care to my members. Additionally I offer circumcision procedures and infant wellness consults to members non-members.   She has a specific passion to help infants with tethered oral tissues by managing compensations from tethered oral tissues, improving gut health and maternal factors that are affecting baby’s health, and assisting families with pre/post frenotomy care. If you are interested in services, please use the contact form. 

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What is your office location?

Mindful Pediatrics is located within KC Well Nest. KC Well Nest is a collective of holistic, like-minded providers working together. The founding members of KC Well Nest are Liz Levy (RN, IBCLC), Carissa Stanton (MD, Pediatrician), and Cody Skinner (OTR/L). The providers believe in holistic care: looking at the whole mind, body, spirit, family dynamic and environment to improve wellness. "The Nest" is a place where families can be nurtured in a relaxing and welcoming environment, and where providers can collaborate to join their expertises to help patients. We hope you will join us!

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Why are you out of network with insurance companies?

Long story short: To remove all barriers between me and my patients to take care of kids better! For long story see my blog post My Return to the Doctor-Patient Relationship.   My practice is going back to the simpler and better ways of direct doctor and patient relationship without the barriers in between! 

Of note: Mindful Pediatrics is not able to provide services for patients who are Medicare beneficiaries.

 

Why do you charge a monthly fee per child?  

This fee pays for the direct access and virtual care families receive.  It allows me to limit the membership so I can use my time directly providing care.  Telehealth with your child's own doctor can help manage most acute issues. Families receive numerous benefits with direct access to their doctor: convenience, better care by a physician who knows your child, ability to monitor closely to allow the body to heal itself before jumping to medications, and can decrease urgent care visits. It is a higher level of care than other clinics are able to provide. Plus, many area nurse lines and clinics are starting to charge for calls, therefore some are having to pay for this service regardless. 

In order to focus on the families that do commit to my practice, I will not provide services to families who do not have all full-time children of the home become members of the practice.

 

Why are there fees for visits?  

This is another way to improve quality of care.  Paying the doctor directly saves resources the doctor can then use to care for patients. You get what you pay for applies here: insurance "covers" 10 minutes of a doctor's time, whereas my check-ups are 1 hour in length.

It also is more transparent than going through a 3rd party payer. What I do for your child will be discussed and decided upon with the family before the service is rendered. Families will always know the exact fee before it is done, not after you get a bill or explanation of benefits in the mail. Visits are able to be associated with insurance billing codes, and can be eligible to use HSA funds and/or out-of-network reimbursements from insurance. Of course consult with your individual policy for details.

 

What is included with wellness visits?

Every wellness visit will have the typical elements of a primary care clinical visit. I will also have the additional time needed for wellness evaluation and management: diet, supplements, mindfulness, and environmental modifications. As with other specialties, if your child needs more extensive functional medicine or alternative treatments that are beyond my skills or expertise, I have a referral base that can assist with that.

 

What is not included with visit fees?  

There are certain equipment and supplies that are not included in the visit fee for labs, procedures and vaccines. These services will be provided to members at cost, and are far lower than other clinics charge. The fees are direct and discussed ahead of time before the procedure. Vaccines themselves are an additional cost to the practice, and I will work with families to find the best option through my business or through in-network options. 

 

What is your vaccine and medical decision making policy?

I empathize with families navigating the healthcare system and America's challenges to protect and make decisions for their child. I am an open-minded healthcare provider who is supportive of each family's unique benefit/risk ratio and medical choices. I support  families and the full range of medical decisions and choices. I do require a consent form to be signed to protect my liability and ability to continue to practice as a medical doctor in America.

 

Does the child still need health insurance?

Insurance can still play a role in the child's healthcare. Although Mindful Pediatrics operates out of network, families will be provided with the necessary documentation to file for reimbursement with their insurance provider. Families may also be able to use health savings or flex savings accounts towards fees, again check with the account policy. Mindful Pediatrics also works for families who have health sharing plans, Missouri Medicaid, and self-pay.

If your child needs outside labs or radiology, I have options of ordering these to minimize out of pocket costs. Quest and Children's Mercy Hospital are in-network with most 3rd party payers, and I have negotiated lower cash-pay prices for labs through Quest. Referrals to specialists can also be managed to minimize costs. 

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Do you care for patients in hospitals?

Since I am not in-network with insurance companies, I do not provide services in hospitals. But I will always help coordinate care and see my patients after they leave the hospital or birth center.

 

What is mindfulness?

The definition of mindfulness is the state of being conscious or aware of something. To me it is a way of living: taking the extra effort to think about the impact of your decisions. My husband came up with the name Mindful Pediatrics. We chose it because my goal is to apply this way of living to my practice and the care I provide. The Mindful Pediatrics motto is to be mindful of the whole child: to take care of a child’s mind, body, spirit and environment. The Mindful Pediatrics logo was designed by my daughter to symbolize these aspects. The 4 leaves to depict these 4 holistic parts of a child’s wellness. The child is a tree symbolizing the roots a child needs and the growth the child goes through. The home symbolizes the family centered care.

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