Making an appointment with the MS Clinic

To schedule an appointment with the Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammatory Disorders Clinic at CHOP, please call our clinic coordinator at 215-590-6053 or 215-590-1719.

Prior to your scheduled appointment, please contact the pre-registration office at 1-800-977-3734 to confirm your demographic and insurance information. This will ensure timely check-in at the time of your visit.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please call at least 48 hours in advance so that we may schedule other patients.

Before your visit: referrals and authorization

Obtain any physician referrals needed

If required by your insurance, please obtain referrals from your child's primary physician for neurology. Referrals are often sent electronically. Please call your child’s primary care provider prior to your visit to verify that referrals were sent. In addition, your insurance may require a co-pay, which will be collected during your visit.

Check your insurance coverage, referral and authorization requirements

Insurance

Children's Health Care Associates (CHCA) participates with most insurance carriers. If you are not sure whether CHCA participates with your insurance, please call the member service number on the back of your insurance card to verify. If you need to make payment arrangements, please call CHCA at 215- 567-2422.

Referrals/authorization for neurology

If your insurance requires referrals or authorization, please request them from your child's primary physician.

Referrals/authorization for the neurologist should be made out to CHCA/Neurology for evaluation and treatment. Your primary physician may contact our office if an NPI number is needed for referral.

If your child requires additional laboratory studies and/or X-rays, you should have a separate referral made out to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia or to the facility where your child will have the tests done.

On the day of your visit

Where to come

Our MS and Neuroinflammatory Disorders Clinic is located on the 10th Floor of the Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, on Civic Center Boulevard just south of the Main Hospital.

To access parking, turn left from Civic Center Boulevard into Driveway B and follow signs to Garage B. A security officer will be at the parking garage entrance if you have any questions. After registering at the first floor Welcome Center, take the Buerger elevators to the 10th floor.

Find additional parking information, floor maps and driving directions for CHOP's Main Campus.

How to dress your child

Please dress your child with loose-fitting pants or shorts for the examination, since children prefer their own clothes rather than a hospital gown.

When to arrive

Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. Your child’s appointment may take up to two to three hours. Please schedule your appointment appropriately to allow time for clinic services. This will allow us to provide the best treatment to you and your child.

What to bring to your visit

Please remember to bring the following to your visit:

Your child's records

For new patients to our practice, please bring a copy of your child's medical records. For existing patients, please bring any new records since your last visit. Records may include:

• Physician letters
• Vaccine records
• Laboratory test results
• X-rays
• Spinal tap/lumbar puncture results
• MRI or CT scan (copy of CD)

For radiology studies (MRIs, CT scans), please make sure you bring both reports as well as CDs with actual images. Your child's doctor will not be able to give you an opinion about imaging findings unless they are able to see the actual pictures.

Please bring any other records from your primary care physician or other specialists related to why your child was referred to Neurology.

If your child’s studies have been done at CHOP, you do not need to bring these records; we have direct access to them.

What to expect during your visit

During your appointment with the MS and Neuroinflammatory Disorders Clinic, you and your child will meet with our nurse. She will take a brief history of your child’s condition, review medications and any allergies.

Because we are a teaching hospital, we often have residents, fellows and research staff circulating in our clinic. They may visit with you, take a medical history, or examine your child.

Next you will meet with one of our attending physicians.

You may also request to meet with a social worker. Social workers can help families who are struggling with a diagnosis or who need help with concrete resources or access to services (school, disability services, equipment, insurance, SSI/MA etc.).

History and examination

Your child’s physician will discuss your child’s history, perform an examination, and review any MRI studies or other diagnostic studies that were completed prior to your child's appointment. Your child's physician also will discuss the potential diagnosis, prognosis and plan of care. At the end of the visit, the team will provide you with written instructions regarding your child’s health.

Laboratory studies

We may order laboratory studies to help with diagnosing and treating your child. If your insurance participates with CHOP, you may have your child’s blood drawn while at our facility.