Schedule Today, Call 781-322-5101
Look to Pediatric Associates of Malden to provide care you can trust. Since 2000 we have provided compassionate healthcare for children in Malden, MA and the adjacent cities. We have four experienced pediatricians and 12 supporting staff members who are sensitive to the needs of families with diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds. We regularly review our patient satisfaction surveys conducted in the office to find out what needs to be done to further improve our service, as we strive to be the “Medical Home” for our patients. Our physicians are members of the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s.
We are open 365 days a year unless there is a true snow emergency. If calling after hours, our friendly answering service will forward your message to the physician-on-call.
Please use the Symptom Checker to help you learn about some of the common pediatric problems that you can manage without necessarily going to the Emergency Department. You can always contact us to schedule for sick visits.
Seeing children and parents at regular intervals is important in maintaining your child’s health. Evaluating growth and development, discussing safety, nutrition, behavior and answering age related questions are the functions of well child/adolescent visits.
Other health management services include:
Asthma — Proper Nutrition — Obesity — Attention Deficit
All 3 doctors have a working affiliation with the Children’s Hospital, Boston and with the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.
Dr. Tien-Lan Chang has practiced as a specialist in pediatric gastroenterology since 1987 and in general pediatrics since 2000. In 2008 he gave up the part-time practice of pediatric gastroenterology at Mass. General Hospital to devote fully to general pediatrics in Malden. He is fluent in English and Chinese (Mandarin).
Dr. Austin Liu grew up in the Greater Boston area and was trained in pediatrics in Memphis, Tennessee. He practiced in Georgia for 4 years and joined P.A.M. in 2006.
Dr. Maura K. Shea had pediatric training in Cincinnati, OH and Providence, R.I. She worked at neighborhood health centers in Boston, MA from 2001 to 2008 before joining P.A.M.
Many insurances require a co-pay at the time of service. If you do not pay your co-pay at the time of service, your account will be charged an additional $10.00.
We will submit a claim to all primary and secondary insurances. Please remember to bring your current insurance cards to your appointment. Once your insurance company has processed your claim, we will bill you for the remaining balance that you are responsible for, as determined by your insurance plan, such as deductables and co-insurances. Payments are expected upon receipt of your statement. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Cash, Checks, Debit Cards and Money Orders.
We assign all unpaid accounts to an outside collection agency that reports to a national credit bureau. They will add additional penalties and interest to the unpaid amount.
If you are uninsured, or if we are unable to verify coverage, we require a $100.00 payment at your first visit which will be applied to your charges. If charges exceed the $100.00 we will send you a statement.
Physicians must follow accepted national guidelines when determining what your charges (level of service) will be. They must code your visit based upon what services were provided and cannot take into account particular health plan benefit designs. Consequently we are unable to switch the visit reason and diagnosis in order for a claim to be covered by your insurance. If you think there is an error on your account, please contact the billing office immediately. We will review your concern with the physician and let you know the outcome.
You should contact your insurance company as soon as possible after your child has been born. Most health plans allow 30 days to add your newborn to your insurance plan. If you have coverage through OMAP, you MUST contact your caseworker immediately. Your caseworker will provide you with a temporary identification card. If you are unable to provide proof of insurance after your baby’s two-week appointment, we will charge you in full for services rendered.
· If you are unable to keep your appointment, please call at least 24 hours in advance to cancel.
· Patient visits at Pediatric Associates of Malden are by appointment only. Every sibling will need to have an appointment in order to be seen by the doctor.
· Please bring your current insurance card to every appointment, and alert the receptionist of any changes when checking in for your appointment.
· Insurance co-payments are due at the time of the visit.
Newsletter - Spring, 2020
As everyone knows, the Coronavirus that originated in China is now a pandemic across the globe. It is now named SARS-COV-2. A person who has symptoms due to the infection is someone who has COVID-19 (coronavirus induced disease-2019). A national emergency has been declared by the president, and the governor of Massachusetts has also declared a state emergency, banning any gathering of >25 people, and shuttering schools and restaurants across the state for the next month. Locally, so far there has been only one patient with confirmed case of COVID-19 in Malden and another in Medford. Even though Mystic Valley Regional School was closed before the declared emergency because of a concern for possible exposure to a student who had returned from China via Vietnam, there was no confirmation that the student actually has COVID-19.
What does this emergency mean for our pediatric practice and our patients?
1. Our practice will remain open to our patients. We continue to see patients who are scheduled for Well Child visits. We understand that some parents may be concerned about possible exposure to a sick child in the office. This is why we have the policy statements below to minimize that risk. To reduce unnecessary office visits, we would like to remind everyone that in addition to telephone calls, you can use MyChart, the patient portal to our electronic medical record system, to send in emails on any questions. Soon you can even do video virtual visits via Zoom with MyChart. For those who have not yet signed up for MyChart, please do so now by contacting our office.
2. We ask all patients who are sick to call ahead for appointments.
3. We will not accept Walk-in patients (who has not called ahead.) If a patient shows up without an appointment, we will provide him/her with our telephone number so the patient can call and set up an appointment.
4. To separate well patients from sick patients, our schedule will be changed for sick and well visits: sick patients will be seen from 9am to 12pm and from 6pm to 8pm, and Well Visits will be limited from 1 PM to 5 PM.
5. We will follow the recommended protocol by DPH for COVID-19 screening: All patients who call for an appointment will be asked:
i. Within the last 14 days have you/your child or a household member had close contact with a symptomatic person diagnosed with COVID-19?
ii. Have you/your child traveled to Europe, China, Iran, South Korea, King County WA, Westchester County NY, or Solano County CA in the past 14 days?
If the answer to either of the 1st two questions is yes, a third question is asked:
iii. Do you/your child have fever OR cough OR difficulty breathing?
If the response to question iii is also yes, then the patient has screened positive.
The patient may be scheduled to be seen in the parking lot first by a physician in mask, gown and gloves to assess the severity. A nasopharyngeal swab test for SARS-COV2 can be done with the patient in the car/parking lot. If the patient is deemed well enough to go home, he/she will be instructed to be in quarantine at home for at least 2 weeks or until the test is negative.
If the answer is No for first 2 questions, but Yes to the 3rd question, an appointment may be provided, and the patient will be given a mask and gloves to wear on entry to the office. An alternative to an actual visit is to have the physician do a virtual visit by phone.
6. Our medical staff will wear mask and gloves or washing hands before treating patients with any respiratory symptoms.
7. There will be no toys or books in the waiting room or examination rooms.
8. Because we are short on masks, we strongly recommend that families limit the number of people that come with the patient to only 1 responsible adult.If you want your child be tested for SARS-COV-2, even though there is no history of exposure, please call and speak to one of our physicians to determine if it is necessary. We do not test everyone who wants a test. We are hopeful that the policy and protocol above will be followed and will keep our patients and our staff healthy through this pandemic.
Best Wishes,
Pediatric Associates of Malden
Pediatric Assosiates of Malden
105 Commercial St.
Malden, MA 02148
Phone: 781-322-5101
Hours Of Operation:
Monday - Friday
9am - 8pm
Saturday, Sunday & Holidays
9am - 1pm
