Pediatric Office
Pediatrics For Naturally-Minded Families
Looking for a friendly, relaxed, safe space to bring your family for pediatric care? Want to minimize medical interventions and enjoy a more natural approach to treatment and prevention? Dr. Bob provides a unique blend of mainstream and natural care for families who are looking for an old-fashioned pediatrician.
Need to access your child’s chart?
Current patients: sign in to your chart portal here
Looking for our list of Medical Topics?
Check out our A to Z list of common medical problems and solutions.
Scheduling Your Appointments
Before you contact us for an appointment, here is some information to help you decide what type of visit you may need. NOTE: Our availability for new patients is very limited. We are prioritizing newborns and young children.
WHICH DR. SEARS DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
There are three Dr. Sears. Dr. Bob Sears (Robert) is the author of The Vaccine Book and the doctor for this office – Dr. Bob Sears, Inc. He shares the phone number and office space with his brother, Dr. Jim Sears (formerly on the TV show The Doctors). They are separate businesses with very different business models (Dr. Jim takes insurance, has a monthly membership fee, and is called Sears Family Pediatrics). Dr. Bill Sears (William) is their father who started all of this – he isn’t currently practicing. Our phone system will steer you into either Dr. Bob’s office or Dr. Jim’s when you call.
DR. BOB IS NOT CONTRACTED WITH ANY INSURANCE COMPANIES
We are an old-fashioned fee-for-service office. Most insurances will not reimburse you for the care you receive here. Some insurances, however, will apply your payments to your out-of-network deductible. Cost-sharing health plans (like Christian Cost Sharing) usually will reimburse you for your care here.
How much can you expect to spend here in the first few years of care?
Since most of Dr. Bob’s patients don’t do any vaccines in the first few years, your primary cost would be about 3 or 4 check ups during the first year, 1 or 2 during the second year. Then about every 2 years after that. Some patients choose to come in every year. So you might spend about $900 for your first year of care, then much less every year after that. One or two sick visits add a small additional cost. We hope you find this to be a reasonable investment for the type of care you will receive here. Note: all prices listed below are subject to change and may not be updated here. The official office policy forms you will sign as a new patient is up to date.
FLEXIBLE VACCINE POLICY
While we do offer all vaccines on the CDC schedule, most of our patients elect to delay vaccines for the first several years of life. Some families vaccinate later to meet school requirements. Many choose to homeschool. We provide informed consent for vaccination and allow you to make the decisions.
VACCINE MEDICAL EXEMPTION POLICY
Dr. Bob is not able to issue any vaccine exemptions. No exceptions. We understand that some parents feel their child should have an exemption due to prior reactions or family history, and we support your wish to avoid future vaccines, but we cannot issue a medical exemption. Dr. Bob can counsel you on what your options are, including making a vaccine plan letter that will meet school requirements.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPE OF APPOINTMENT
Whether you are a long-time patient, calling us with a brand new baby, were fired by your old pediatrician and are transferring to us with three kids, just moved to our area and looking for a doctor, or are looking for a doctor to guide you through your vaccine decisions, we want to make sure your visit with Dr. Bob meets your needs and exceeds your expectations.
NOTE: At this time, our availability for new patients is limited. We are prioritizing newborns and young children. Here are the various types of appointments for you to choose from:
Prenatal Appointments
For these you have two choices. Enjoy a free five-minute meet-and-greet with Dr. Bob to get a general impression of our office. This does not include any type of medical advice or discussion of medical decisions. OR, schedule a 15 minute paid prenatal consultation (cost is $220) to discuss various medical questions surrounding your birth and immediate postnatal care. Prenatal and newborn vaccines can be discussed, but a full vaccine consultation would need to wait until after the baby is born.
Check Ups
This 15 to 20 minute appointment is for healthy children without any complex medical problems. Vaccines are also briefly discussed, but not in detail. Cost is $240. If your child has a complex medical problem that also needs addressing, in addition to a full check up, please schedule a 30 minute appointment for $330.
Combined Check Up and Vaccine Consultation
This is a 30 minute visit, and includes a Check Up as well as extra time to discuss vaccines in more detail, including making a planned vaccine schedule for what would be required for school and providing a written vaccine plan that allows you to register for school. Cost is $330. Note: if you anticipate needing additional time to help decide whether you want to vaccinate at all, consider scheduling a combined Check Up and Long Vaccine Consult for $400.
Same Day Sick Visits
We keep part of our schedule free every day to make sure we can see any urgently sick kids right away when needed. We see all our sick kids outside so that our check up rooms stay germ-free for well kids. Sick appointments are generally 5 to 10 minutes and cost $220.
Newborn Babies
Congratulations! If you had your baby at home or in a birth center with a midwife, simply call us the day after your baby is born and schedule a Check Up (15 to 20 minutes – $240) for when your baby is about 3 days old. If you and your midwife decide this first check up can wait until a later date, just give us a call when you are ready to be seen. We keep newborn appointment slots free in our schedule so we can easily work you in last minute. There’s no need to call us or register with us before your baby is born.
If your baby is born in a hospital, Dr. Bob doesn’t go to any hospitals to see newborns. The hospital will assign one of their pediatricians to see your baby there. Give us a call when your baby is home, and we will see you when baby is 5 to 7 days old. If there is an urgent newborn problem, we can see you sooner.
Complex Medical Problem
If you don’t need a full check up, but want to have a medical problem evaluated, schedule a 15 to 30 minute appointment ($220 to $330). Note: our availability for new patients with complex medical problems is limited, as we are currently prioritizing newborns and young children.
Phone Appointments
Dr. Bob does phone appointments in circumstances where a patient cannot come into the office. Cost varies according to length, and is similar to in-person appointment costs.
Vaccine phone discussions are available for those living far away from the office or out of state. We require you to watch the All-Access Pass Vaccine Consult Video and study the vaccine FAQs first so you’ll have a better understanding of vaccines for your phone discussion.
Short Vaccine Planning Appt
This 15 minute appointment is for parents who mostly know what they want to do with vaccines, and need a plan written down that will provide the vaccines necessary for school spread out over time without going too fast. This written plan can be used to register for school. Or, perhaps you’ve watched The Vaccine Consult Video and are maybe considering not doing vaccines and only have several more questions you want to discuss. Cost is $240.
The Vaccine Consult Video Appt
Instead of booking a Long Vaccine Consultation, consider watching The Vaccine Consult Video first, then study the All-Access FAQs. You may find that these and the other resources Dr. Bob provides in his video answer most of your questions. You likely won’t need a long consultation, but may find a shorter vaccine consult is still needed.
Vaccine-only visits
Once you have established yourself as a patient and had a Check Up, follow up visits for vaccines only are at no extra cost – you just pay for the cost of the vaccines. We minimize this cost as best we can and do not make a profit from them. Costs vary between $60 for the least expensive vaccine and $275 for the most expensive. Getting all 14 injections required by schools costs about $1000.
Long Vaccine Consultation
This 30 minute appointment is for parents who aren’t sure what they want to do about vaccines and need help reviewing the pros and cons of vaccination in detail. Dr. Bob will help you decide what you want to do and walk you through the various options. Cost is $330. You may also find that watching Dr. Bob’s Vaccine Consult Video very useful to do before booking your appointment. See the box on the left for more information.
AFTER HOURS MEDICAL ADVICE
Dr. Bob does provide paid after-hours text and phone call brief evaluations (evenings or weekends) for $100 to $150. These are designed to help you decide if you should go to an urgent care or ER for an urgent problem or can wait to be seen when we next open. He is not available during the middle of the night. Be sure to make use of our Online Guide to Medical Problems here on our website for information on how to evaluate and treat the most common medical problems and when to call us to be seen.
Not a Patient Yet?
Dr. Bob is currently welcoming new patients into his practice. We look forward to hearing from you.
949-493-5437 (KIDS)
Fax: 949-493-0535
26933 Camino de Estrella, Suite A Capistrano Beach, CA 92624
Monday to Friday:
8:30 to 5:00
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? View more Q&A here
Do you prescribe medications?
Yes. Dr. Bob prescribes all standard pediatric medications when needed. He also utilizes natural remedies whenever possible and makes every attempt to minimize pharmaceuticals.
Do you accept insurance?
No. Dr. Bob prefers to practice without the time constraints and policy guidelines imposed by some insurance plans. You can submit bills to your insurance yourself for reimbursement (if your plan covers out-of-network care). Our patients have found that most Christian HealthShare Plans (and similar types of cost-sharing insurance plans) do reimburse for our care. You can also use HSA funds to pay for your care.
Do you still write vaccine medical exemptions?
No. In 2019 California law was changed so that only children with severe permanent brain injuries or anaphylactic shock from vaccines can be exempt from future doses of that vaccine. Prior reasons such as less-severe reactions, family history of numerous medical problems or vaccine reactions, or active medical problems are no longer valid reasons for exemption. Therefore Dr. Bob does not write VMEs anymore.
How much does care at your office cost?
See our full price list for details under Appointment Types above. In general, care for a healthy newborn baby through the first two years of life would cost about $1500 (four to five well-baby checkups and one or two sick visits).
Do you do phone appointments for people who don't live in Southern California?
Dr. Bob currently on provides medical care to patients who can see him in person. He is able to provide non-medical advice on general vaccine information for people in all states who would like a phone discussion about vaccines. He requires you to first become an All-Access Pass subscriber so you can learn the basics on vaccines. He will then welcome a phone discussion with you if you have further questions (schedule this through the office).
Common Medical Problems (A-Z)
How to assess and treat common illnesses/urgent problems and decide whether or not to call us for an urgent sick visit.
This information is intended as general educational information, not specific medical advice, and is only for patients registered with our office. Contact our office if you have any medical concerns about your child. Call 911 for any life-threatening medical emergency. This information is for our registered patients only, and is only to be used in consultation with us. Do not use this guide if you are not a patient.
***Important note: This information offers general educational guidelines as to whether or not your child should be evaluated by us in our office. It is not actual medical advice. If you ever determine that your child should be seen by us, and this guide suggests it may not be necessary, please follow your own judgment and contact us to be seen.
