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Patient Information Brochure

 Registration

You must bring a valid Ontario Health card when you register, and for every appointment.  Residents of other provinces are also covered.  Travelers covered by private insurance will be asked to settle their accounts at the desk, as we do not accept direct payment from insurance companies.

Please tell us if you were given a new health card, or if your address or phone number has changed.  The government will not cover medical services for anyone without a valid health card.
 

Scheduling and Office Appointments

We don’t like to make our patients wait; we try to stay on schedule as much as possible.  To help us do this, we ask you to come to your appointment on time; if you have a problem that will require a long visit, please tell our receptionist when you book the appointment.  Sometimes we have an unscheduled emergency, and we ask for your patience if this does happen.  Monday mornings are very busy; if you are phoning in for a routine appointment, it is best to avoid phoning on Monday mornings.

Complete physicals are usually booked in the morning for half an hour.  If blood tests are to be done, we ask you to fast for 14 hours: no breakfast, but drinking plain water is fine, and you may take your medications (except diabetes medication).  It is very important that you bring all your medications (including over the counter drugs and herbals) with you, so they can be reviewed at that time.  Because of the amount of time booked, we ask that you give us at least 24 hours notice if canceling, so that someone else can be booked in that time slot.  We will try to phone you the previous business day to remind you about the appointment.  The charge for failing to show without proper notice is $50.00.

If you phone in and have to be seen urgently, please tell the receptionist, and we will do our best to accommodate you; you may be asked to see either doctor.  Please be considerate to other patients and limit the visit to the emergency problem only.

After Hours and Urgent Care

More detailed information on After Hours and Urgent Care is available at our After Hours page.
 

Returning phone calls

It is sometimes difficult to return a phone call during a busy office.  We often return the calls during lunch time or after office hours.  Please tell the receptionist what the problem is when you call; she will advise you whether an appointment is necessary.
 

Prescription Refills over the phone

During an office visit, you will be given a prescription for enough medication to last you until the next visit.  We do not refill prescriptions over the phone or fax.  Please plan ahead and make an appointment before your medications run out.  If you lose a prescription, we will provide a second prescription; the charge for this is $25. 

Uninsured Services

Some services are not covered by OHIP.  The payment for these is your responsibility.  Examples of uninsured services are: insurance forms, government forms, etc.   Forms take time to fill and thus reduce our ability to provide care to patients; please be considerate with the number of forms you ask us to fill.  If the form states that you are responsible for the charges, you must pay for this when you receive the filled out form.  

We offer two options for payment of uninsured services:

1. An Annual Plan, which is a single annual fee that covers the cost of most uninsured services.  This lets us reduce the amount of time spent sending out individual invoices, and allows us to spend more time on patient care, or
2. Payment for each service at the time they are provided. 

Referrals to Specialists

You will be referred to a specialist if a specialized opinion is needed, if a procedure is required or if an operation is necessary.  We write a referral letter and send a copy of the appropriate tests to the specialist. Please make sure that you keep the appointment.  We do not encourage multiple specialist consultations because this makes it very difficult to coordinate your health care.  We generally do not refer for problems that should be followed by a family doctor, for example:  routine pap smears, annual breast exams, etc.   If you choose to see a specialist without being referred, please make sure that you inform the specialist’s office ahead of time, as we will not provide a referral letter.  The specialist's office generally determines the waiting time for the appointment; this is out of our hands.  If your problem gets worse, please make an appointment here so that we can reassess you.  Examples of waiting times:  Dermatology: 1 month; gastroenterology:  4 to 6 months; surgery:  3 to 4 months.
 

As Family Physicians, our job is to keep you and your family as healthy as possible; we are the “entry point” into the health care system.  We thank you for trusting us with your care.