Frequently Asked Questions

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Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4.45pm (for clinical assessments) and Fridays 10am to 1pm (non-clinical and administrative duties).

You can book an appointment on the booking page on our website or by calling our office. Our lines open from 9am (Mon-Thurs) and 10am (Fri).   

Our practice is now part of a Family Health Organization (FHO) with a commitment to providing afterhours care by the physicians in the FHO group.   

This means that you can now access an after-hours clinic hosted daily by a different physician and located at the host physician’s site. The hours are Monday to Friday from 5pm to 8pm. You can contact the telephone health advisory service at 1-866-553-7205 to access this service. The telehealth service is open daily including Christmas day and New year day for urgent medical issues that are non-life threatening. To access the after-hours clinic on a Saturday please call the telehealth service for more information.

Yes, we offer same day appointments. Please ensure you call our office as appointments are offered on a 1st call and 1st served basis. If we are unable to fit you in for that day and you feel that the issue is urgent we advise that you use the urgent care at St Joseph’s hospital or attend the ER.

If this issue occurs after hours (5pm), please phone the Telehealth at 1-866-553-7205 and you will either be offered medical advice or directed to the FHO clinic that is on call for that day. For all medical emergencies both during or outside our office hours, please dial 911 or kindly attend the nearest emergency department urgently.

Your use of walk-in clinics will mean that the practice will be billed/penalized by the ministry and therefore we strongly recommend that you do not use walk-in clinics. Also, we do not get reports after your walk-in clinic visits and this can affect your continuity of care. If you use a walk-in clinic, we ask that you notify us immediately. If the ministry notifies us of your use of walk-in clinics, we will inform you. If this continues, you may be removed from the practice list.

We require a valid health card for all appointments at our clinic. Patient who book with expired health cards will be charged at least a non-refundable fee of 50$ for the visit. To update your health card please visit www.ontario.ca to renew online and book your appointment with us when it is updated.

Yes. While we are still processing previously submitted forms we would open up new patient applications briefly from mid-October.

Our clinic is now part of a Family Health Organization group and it is a requirement from the Ontario Ministry of Health that all our patients are enrolled. These forms are not the same as new patient application forms. As we welcome new patients and restructure our practice, patients previously registered with us who have not been enrolled stand the risk of being DE-Registered if they do not complete and submit enrollment forms timely.

With the acute shortage of family physicians and the proportionate number of patients registered in one practice, it is often difficult to get through to any family physician office. 

In order to reach us quickly we recommend: 

•  Making use of our online booking portal first before ringing the office. Call us  for questions regarding your booking.

•   Sending your prescription request through to your pharmacy for a refill two weeks before you run out, allowing 5 business days for the doctor to process it when we receive your request from the pharmacy.

•   Do not call first thing in the morning for a regular office visit or non-urgent question. People who really need to be seen same day typically call first thing in the morning. Avoid this time if you are not requiring same day care.

•Our phones are turned off during lunch breaks to allow our reception team to catch up on work and have lunch without interruptions.

An appointment is required for a refill of all controlled substances and sleep aids. Otherwise, for any other prescription refills (as long as you are not due a review) please contact your pharmacy to send a refill request at least 2 weeks before you run out allowing 5 business days for it to be processed.

Alternatively, you will be contacted by our office if your doctor requires you to be seen to renew your prescription.

3rd party fees are fees not covered by OHIP. Services such as: Medical notes, various forms and certain medical procedures are not covered by OHIP.  As such these services are paid for directly by the patient. Pleas see our 3rd party fees page for a listing of fees patients are required to pay at the time of visit. Alternatively you can ask our receptionist for more details during your visit.

We accept only cash for now.

When a referral is made by the doctor the waiting times are not up to us but the specialist to whom the referral has been made to. 

We would endeavor to keep our patients up to date with the status of the referral we have initiated in accordance with the information that is made available to us by the specialist. We usually inform our patients (if known) the current waiting times for the specialist to whom they have been referred to.

We also encourage our patients to inform us if they would prefer us to refer them to specialists outside of our local area.

You will likely receive a call from both our office, and the specialist office when you are offered an appointment. Please return all calls if you are left a voicemail to ensure you receive your appropriate appointment information.

 Yes, with the proper authorizations your medical records can be electronically faxed to your new provider. 

Please drop your form off in a timely manner with your sections completed and signed, for the doctor to review and complete the remaining sections. Our receptionist will contact you when your form is ready and advise of the associated cost for the completion of the form.

 Rude, loud or disrespectful behaviour directed at other patients, our staff, or the physician is NOT acceptable. Clinic staff and the physician have the right to refuse treatment to patients behaving inappropriately. Our staff have been instructed to notify the police if deemed necessary to protect themselves and other patients. Such patients would be de-registered from the practice.