Office Policies

1. [box] New patients: Appointments are only by referral from a family physician or a specialist.[/box]
2. Previously seen patients: Patients who have been seen in the office/hospital within the past year may phone and request a follow up appointment or reassessment.
3. [box]Inactive patients: Patients who have not been seen in the office/hospital for more than a year are required to obtain a new referral from their family physicians.[/box]
4. Prescription refills are obtained from the family physician.
5. [box] If you need to speak to the doctor about any matter, please call during normal business hours if at all possible. Please note that no private calls are answered after work hours (i.e. after 5 PM) or on weekends/holidays.[/box]
6. For perceived life threatening emergencies such as chest pain, severe shortness of breath, or fainting, call 911. Do not drive yourself to the hospital/emergency room. An ambulance service with trained medical staff is always safer.
7. [box]For less serious and less urgent matters, call your family doctor or the emergency room nurse/staff and describe the nature of the problem. He/she will provide proper guidance.[/box]
8. All patients under the age of 18 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian at the consultation appointment.
9. [box]If you are unable to keep an appointment, we ask that you kindly provide us a least 48 hours notice. This courtesy, on your part, will make it possible to give your appointment to another patient.[/box]
10. No children below 6 years are allowed in the office as we cannot guarantee a child-safe environment for your child. Patients presenting with a young child will be asked to reschedule.
11. [box]Patients who are verbally or physically abusive to any staff member in our office will not be given any further appointments.[/box]
12. For the health and consideration of our doctor, staff and other patients, please do not come into the office if you are suffering from a bad cold, fever or chest infection. We will give you the earliest appointment available in the event of cancellation due to illness. We reserve the right to reappoint patients at our discretion when we feel their illness may cause exposure to other patients in the office waiting areas.
13. [box]We recognize that everyone’s time is valuable, so we make every effort to maintain the scheduled appointment times, but urgent calls from the hospital and other urgent situations sometimes disrupt the schedule. We ask for your understanding and patience during these delays. We will make every effort to keep your waiting time to a minimum.[/box]