What to bring to each and every appointment

• your health card (e.g. OHIP) – ministry requirement
• name and dosage of recent medications prescribed or changed by other physicians.

Medication Refills

There is a charge for any medications renewed over the phone or by fax if medically appropiate. Your doctor will prescribe enough medications to last you until a follow-up visit is warranted—please keep track of your medication supply and book an appointment to refill your medications at least one week before you run out. Your condition will change over time, and regular assessments, which may include lab tests, may be required to adjust your treatment plan to optimize your health.

Likewise, please be advised that the charge for prescription refills by phone/fax will also apply to auto-faxed refill requests generated by your pharmacy. If you wish your pharmacy NOT to auto-fax prescription refill requests, you must inform them.

Referrals and Investigations

It can take several weeks to arrange referrals to specialists and special investigations. If you have not heard about an appointment after 2 weeks, please feel free to call our office to check on the status of the referral. Alternatively, you may be given contact information for the specialist office in order to contact them directly.

Missed Appointments

Due to the high volume of patients we see in our office on a daily basis, we need to optimize the best use of our clinic hours for our patients. Likewise, OHIP does not compensate for the time and expenses we incur due to missed appointments. If you need to cancel an appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so we can fit another patient into the time slot. Please be advised that a fee may be charged for appointments missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.

Timeliness

We respect your time and will try to remain on schedule. Being on-time requires the office’s cooperation as well as yours. Ideally arrive at our reception desk at least 5-10 minutes before your appointment, especially if there are changes to your address/contact information/OHIP number, etc. If you have a number of concerns please prioritize them with the most pressing concern first. Please limit the number of issues per visit if possible—this will ensure that we can devote sufficient attention to all of your concerns, without unnecessary time-pressures. You of course are welcome to make any number of follow-up visits for the rest of your concerns.
If you arrive late for your appointment we can only spend the remainder of the visit on your concerns. If you miss your appointment all together you may be billed for a missed appointment and asked to rebook for another date.

Confidentiality & Medical Age of Majority

We take patient confidentiality very seriously. With few exceptions, medical information will not be released to anyone (including spouses) other than to the patient directly.

There is no “medical age of majority” in Canada. As noted by the Canadian Medical Protective Agency (CMPA):

It is our policy that anybody over the age of 18 must contact us in person to arrange appointments or request medical information. Parents may be asked to leave the room during assessments with older children and adolescent patients.

Uninsured Services

There are some services that OHIP does not cover. Please click on the link below for information on our uninsured services program
Uninsured Services Information

Seeing Other Physicians: ER, Walk-in Clinincs, etc.

Generations FHC is a Family Health Organization (FHO), a primary care model designed to offer high quality comprehensive and continuous care—a commitment we take very seriously. Having primary care concerns addressed in other settings (such as Walk-In Clinics and House Call Services) can pose certain challenges to our ability to provide that highest quality of care. Moreover, your doctor is personally responsible for the total cost of OHIP primary care access outside of our FHO, such as Walk-In Clinic visits and House Call Services. Frequent outside access may result in you being de-rostered from our active FHO list.
There may be times when you have an urgent concern and need to see a physician after hours. We would once again like to respectfully remind you to avoid Walk-in Clinics and House Call Services. When necessary, patients may access the Telephone Health Advisory Service and our Secure Email system at any time after hours when our clinic is closed (see: “Services > After Hours” on this website).

Complete Check-Ups, Periodic Health Reviews & “Well Care”

We encourage our patients to schedule periodic health reviews on a semi-regular basis to allow for an appropriate review of your health—however a complete physical is often NOT necessary every 12 months. (In fact, annual complete physicals are no longer covered by OHIP in many cases.) The value of check-ups and their frequency depends on many things, including your age, gender, personal health history, and family history. If you have ongoing health problems you will probably need to see your doctor more often. If you have a specific issue to address, please book an appointment so that your concerns may be best addressed on an individual basis.
For more on the evidence-based medical practice and reducing unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures, please visit: Choosing Wisely Canada

Scent Free and Smoke Free Environment

Some patients and staff in our office may have sensitivities to strong odours and irritants. Please refrain from wearing strong perfumes/colognes when visiting the office, and refrain from smoking prior to your appointment.