Appointments – The “A,B,C’s”
Our office is committed to honouring everyone’s time equally and operating clinic
as close to ‘on time’ as possible. You can participate in this goal in a few ways…
1. “Reason for Visit”
When requesting an appointment, you are required to state your reason for visit.
This is not intended to be intrusive, but to assist in appropriately booking the clinic day.
Physicians prepare for clinic based on patient's declared visit needs, ensuring that required supplies, documentation and information are ready for your visit.
Staff is authorized to assess the appropriate appointments based on:
General medical urgency e.g. Sudden onset of acute pain versus a blood pressure check,
Time values e.g. More than one medical concern may require more than one visit,
addressing the most urgent first.
Physician necessity - e.g. Your inquiry may not require a direct visit with physician,
but can be addressed by staff.
Staff is legally required to adhere to strict codes of confidentiality and is here
to facilitate your request with information and direction.
2. If your reason for visit changes, alert staff in advance of your visit as it may require rescheduling.
Examples:
~ The appointment you set was for a routine blood pressure check, but you have since developed a more serious concern, requiring a longer assessment time.
~ The reason for your visit has resolved, but you keep the appointment anyway to inquire after a referral report from a specialist you saw recently…the report however has not been received by your doctor yet to review.
~ You bring additional people with you to be seen by the doctor, or seek to trade your appointment for theirs, anticipating that your physician will assess them. Your visit need and theirs may require a different assessment time.
Do not bring additional people for assessment to a booked appointment.
All of these things affect clinic time and are not appreciated by patients booked after you,
including yourself if it happens ahead of your scheduled visit.
3. On Appointment Day:
We have limited waiting room and parking space. In order to achieve a respectful, private and personalized atmosphere for our patients, we request that you:
~ Please arrive no more than 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
~ Please do not bring companions along for your scheduled appointment, unless of course you require physical assistance for your visit, or your physician has suggested that you do so.
Result Information
. Appointments are not made to review results.
. All reports are reviewed directly by the ordering doctor.
. Doctors direct staff to contact patients regarding any reporting that requires action.
(Including follow up visit, a needed medication, a change in a medication, additional testing etc.)
. Staff is not authorized to discuss results other than as directed by physicians.
. If you do not hear from staff regarding a result, feel confident that it required no action.
Third Party Requests (Forms & Medicals)
Examples of third party requests: Disability forms, Tax credit applications, Missed work notes, Return to work notes, Driver medicals, School or Sport Medicals.
Some of these requests require physician assessment and some do not. Ask staff to help you determine which is appropriate for your request.
ALL forms require information that requires physician and staff time to provide. Fees for these services are most often the responsibility of the patient, not the requesting body. The physician will estimate the fee associated with your form and advise you for pre-approval of processing. Check your form carefully to ensure that you have filled out any areas that are required of the patient and provide your signature. This is your “authorization for release of information”. Your physician cannot process your form without this permission.
We hope that this information helps to address some initial questions that you may have and give you a sense of familiarity with the day to day operating of our clinic.
Thank you for taking the time to review this information,
Dr. Bruce Daly and Dr. Stephane Foidart