Clinic Appointments

PLEASE CALL 612-626-6777 TO SCHEDULE

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

ADDITIONAL SERVICES TAILORED TO YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS

WHAT WE CAN HELP YOU WITH

CHOOSE A PEDIATRICIAN

LOCATIONS

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

PAYMENT/INSURANCE

MAIL US THESE DOCUMENTS 1 WEEK PRIOR TO INITIAL APPOINTMENT

BRING THESE ITEMS WITH YOU TO ALL OF YOUR APPOINTMENTS

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS

INTERPRETER SERVICES

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR APPOINTMENT

REQUEST A COPY OF YOUR CHILD’S MEDICAL RECORD

IF YOU LIVE TOO FAR FROM THE TWIN CITIES TO COME HERE FOR APPOINTMENTS

PARTICIPATE IN THE CURRENT RESEARCH STUDY

WHO SEES PATIENTS IN CLINIC?

PLEASE CALL 612-626-6777 TO SCHEDULE
Please call 612-626-6777 to schedule an appointment with International Adoption Clinic. We are happy to see your child at any point, even if your child has been home for many years. However, for new parents just about to bring their child home for the first time, you should call as soon as you know your child’s arrival date; we would like to see your child within 2-3 weeks of her/his arrival in the U.S.

Please note that many families are waiting to be seen in clinic.  Please contact us (612-626-6777) at least 72 hours in advance of any appointment cancelation, so that we can serve as many families as possible.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
While we are happy to see any child of any age, regardless of how long they have been home with you, we have put together a development program for families who have just brought their new child home. The development program consists of four appointments designed to work in conjunction with—not in place of—the care provided by your child's primary care provider (PCP). We will provide clinic letters for your PCP with a summary of each visit, along with our treatment recommendations. Click here to read more about the clinical research that helped inform the development program as the best way to care for international adoptees.

Visit 1:  Initial visit at 2-3 weeks post-arrival, to give a total-body examination, to evaluate for immediate health issues; including evaluation for communicable diseases and to assess health/immunization status and address questions regarding your child’s adjustment to her/his new environment. Referrals are made to audiology and ophthalmology, as indicated. Please allow two hours for the first visit. This is an outpatient medical visit with care provided by a M.D.; located in 4-100 Phillips-Wangansteen Building in Minneapolis.

Visit 2:  At 6 months post-arrival, we will review interval history regarding attachment and transition issues of both the child to the family and the family to the child, medical illnesses, catch-up growth and developmental progress. We will retest labs for HIV 1&2, hepatitis C and micronutrient deficiencies and perform a tuberculin skin test. Referrals are made as indicated to endocrine, developmental rehabilitation (OT/PT) and neuropsychology for further assessment of growth and development concerns. Please allow one hour for the second visit. This is an outpatient medical visit with care provided by a M.D.; located in 4-100 Phillips-Wangansteen Building in Minneapolis.

Visit 3:  At 12 months post-arrival, your child will receive a psychological assessment using sensitive testing tools, to assess cognitive and social-emotional development and developmental trajectory. This visit takes place in a psychology testing room; please allow two to three hours for the diagnostic testing and an additional 30 minutes on a different day when you meet again with the provider to review the results of the testing. If a medical exam is also required, it can be scheduled in the medical clinic on a different day. This is an outpatient psychology visit with care provided by a licensed clinical psychologist (Ph.D.); located in KDWB University Pediatrics Family Center, Suite 160 Macnamara Alumni Building.

Visit 4: At four years old, or 2 years post-arrival. Your child will receive a comprehensive psychological development assessment. This visit takes place in the psychology testing lab; please allow three hours for the diagnostic testing and an additional 30 minutes on a different day when you meet again with the provider to review the results of the testing. If a medical exam is also required, it can be scheduled in the medical clinic on a different day. This is an outpatient psychology visit with care provided by a licensed clinical psychologist (Ph.D.); located in KDWB University Pediatrics Family Center, Suite 160 Macnamara Alumni Building.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES TAILORED TO YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS

• At 3 months post-arrival, the medical clinic may want to follow up if the child has been found to have severe developmental delay, moderate malnutrition or transition issues noted at the initial visit.
• At 6 months post-arrival, the medical clinic provider may refer your child for a separate 1- or 2-hour psychological assessment to assess cognitive development and developmental trajectory.
• Children five years and older who have been in the U.S. for six months or more (as a period of adjustment) may also be scheduled, at parents’ request or referral by IAC provider, for age-appropriate cognitive, social-emotional and behavioral assessments.
• We offer preschool evaluations to assist you in defining your child’s strengths and in making decisions about school readiness.

WHAT WE CAN HELP YOU WITH

• infectious disease
• pre-existing medical conditions
• occupational/physical therapy
• speech/language
• audiology
• family adjustment and transition issues following adoption
• behavioral issues
• social-emotional development
• cognitive development (the ability to learn new skills)
• fetal alcohol issues
• genetics issues
• endocrine issues
• neuropsychology

CHOOSE A PEDIATRICIAN
You should already have chosen a primary care pediatrician/provider (PCP) before your child comes home. Your PCP will be captain of the health professionals team, of which the International Adoption Clinic will play a role as specialist consultants. While we are happy to be the first clinic that you bring your child to when she/he comes home, we definitely recommend that you have already established a relationship with a primary care pediatrician. You should call her/him when you get home, just to let them know you're all home, and you should take them to primary care if they develop fever, diarrhea, itchy skin (could be scabies), or are not drinking well or do not have a wet diaper every 4-6 hours.

LOCATION AND DRIVING DIRECTIONS
Pediatric Specialty Clinic
4^th Floor, Phillips-Wangansteen Building
516 Delaware St SE
Minneapolis, MN  55455
driving directions

PAYMENT/INSURANCE
(Clinic fees are entirely separate from any donation you may have made when you consulted us for your preadoption consultation.)

It is your responsibility to check with your insurance company to make sure that visits to the International Adoption Clinic are covered. We don’t want you to get an invoice that you were not expecting!

Visits 1 and 2 are outpatient medical visits with care provided by a M.D.; located in 4-100 Phillips-Wangansteen Building in Minneapolis. These visits differ from visits to your primary care provider (PCP) in that they are not preventive visits or well-child visits. They are specialist visits and will be coded as such. You may need to ask your insurance company what coverages they provide for adopted children (in some cases there are different diagnostic codes for adopted children than for national-born children). Unlike well-child or preventive visits, you may be responsible for one or more co-pays.

You will receive two-three separate billing statements for each visit. One is for provider services, one for OT/PT evaluation and one for facility services (which includes registration, nursing services, skin tests and outpatient lab [blood, stool, urine] tests). Please discuss this billing structure with your insurance provider so that you are aware of your financial responsibility for these visits. If you elect not to have your insurance provider billed for these appointments and to instead accept full responsibility for payment, we will reduce your payment by 10% if you pay cash at the time of your appointment. Please contact our financial counselor at 612-625-8921 for additional assistance in talking with your insurance provider.

Visits 3 and 4 are outpatient psychology visits with care provided by a licensed clinical psychologist (Ph.D.); located in KDWB University Pediatrics Family Center, Suite 160 Macnamara Alumni Building. These visits are for the purposes of diagnostic testing, not psychotherapy (though we can help refer your child for psychotherapy services, if necessary).

The services provided may be covered under the medical benefits or mental health benefits of your insurance plan, depending upon your child’s final diagnosis. Your insurance plan may have a different level of coverage for mental health benefits than for medical benefits. Therefore, a portion of the services may be your responsibility. After you have scheduled your 12-month visit, please contact our psychology financial counselor, 763-782-6548, to find out whether your insurance plan requires preauthorization. You will receive assistance from us in acquiring preauthorization if necessary. It is also recommended that you contact your insurance provider to find out what your benefit level is for mental health services.

MAIL US THESE DOCUMENTS 1 WEEK PRIOR TO INITIAL APPOINTMENT:

International Adoption Clinic
717 Delaware St. SE, Mail Code 1932
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Your child's translated international medical record (preadoption health history—please send us this information even if we did your preadoption consultation and it feels like we should already have it).

Results of medical tests, immunizations and examinations that have been done in the U.S.

Sending us your child’s medical history prior to the appointment will ensure that we have more time to spend face-to-face with you and your child, rather than reviewing medical records while you’re in the room.

BRING THESE ITEMS WITH YOU TO ALL OF YOUR APPOINTMENTS:

1. Name and address of your child's primary care pediatrician (if you did not have this information at the time you made the appointment)
2. A list of questions to ask during the visit
3. A fresh stool sample (click here for hints on stool specimen collection)
4. A snack and a few toys for your child
5. Completed pre-visit paperwork (which will be emailed or mailed to you at the time of appointment scheduling)
   

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS
Make sure to ask about special University of Minnesota/Fairview Hospital rates!

Minneapolis: Radisson Hotel Metrodome (612-379-8888 or 800-333-3333)

Minneapolis: Days Inn-University of Minnesota (612-623-3999)

INTERPRETER SERVICES
If your child speaks a language other than English, please call 612-626-6777 to arrange for an interpreter if this was not done at the time your appointment was scheduled. Competent interpreter services in a long list of languages is provided through University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR APPOINTMENT
For two-parent families and families with other siblings: we understand that circumstances do not always permit, but we feel that the best care for your child is possible when both parents can be present at the initial appointment, and if alternative care can be arranged for other siblings.

Sending us your child’s medical history prior to the appointment will ensure that we have more time to spend face-to-face with you and your child, rather than reviewing medical records while you’re in the room.

REQUEST A COPY OF YOUR CHILD’S MEDICAL RECORD
To request the entire medical record, complete the Release of Information Form and fax it to 612-273-2345 (fax number also located on the form itself). This form must be received by Health Information Management, who will release the record. International Adoption Clinic cannot release your child's record. However, both you and your primary care provider will receive a detailed clinic letter after each appointment, summarizing the visit and the results of any labs that were drawn.

IF YOU LIVE TOO FAR FROM THE TWIN CITIES TO COME HERE FOR APPOINTMENTS, click here for a list of other adoption medicine specialists who offer same or similar services.

PARTICIPATE IN THE CURRENT RESEARCH STUDY
As of June 2008, there are two opportunities to participate in research studies. Click here for more information.

WHO SEES PATIENTS IN CLINIC?
Cynthia Howard, M.D., MPHTM
Judith Eckerle Kang, M.D.