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Privacy Policy

The online world offers tremendous convenience, but also carries risks for privacy. HMC compiles a huge array of personal information about you including demographic info, e-mails and messages, medical records and is strict and accountable for the privacy; However, according to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) governed by The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, your personal information is only collected, used and disclosed with your knowledge, and often your consent, for legitimate purposes. It is also stored, shared and disposed of in a way that keeps it secure and confidential.

We do not send or receive personal info over email. Be wary of unsolicited email or spam.

Information will be collected by our staff in a sensitive manner and only to the amount necessary for our service. We keep your personal information as accurate, complete and up to date as necessary in our secure Electronic Medical Record with back-up; Please inform us of any changes to your personal information upon arrival at the clinic or call after any changes.

If you have concerns about the personal information handling practices of us, your first step should be to bring it to our attention. In many cases, the concern can be handled by us quickly and effectively. Second step will be to contact Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3

Online resources: www.priv.gc.ca

Our pride is to be consistent with our work hours; but due to unpredictable circumstances like sickness of our physician or patient volume, we may need to change the hours.

Website email address is for employment and clinic concerns only. We do not reply to emails inquiring test results, or questions other than above.  Be aware that we do not ask or advise you to leave any personal information in your emails to the clinic.

A valid Health Card is necessary for registering every time you come to see a Physician. Only the card owner can register himself/herself unless the patient is a minor. Patient’s presence is necessary upon his/her turn; otherwise he/she will end up at the end of the waiting line in walk-in clinic. Old Health Cards with no photos may not be accepted. You need to contact Service Ontario to renew your Health Card.

You can register in person or through our website. You need to enter all required info. Registering does not guarantee accepting you to the practice. Your acceptance will be confirmed by contacting you only. One of our team members will contact you in this case.

You are required to update your personal information including phone number and address. Clinic is not responsible for tracking the patients if clinic is not informed of the information changes.

You can walk-in and register to be seen by one of our physicians in Urgent Care or you can request an appointment via phone call or using the website for certain visits including cosmetics and chronic health conditions. Second option does not mean you will be seen with no waiting time. Also, On-line request for an appointment does not guarantee that an appointment is granted. It is responsibility of the patient to remember their appointment information. A courtesy reminder will be made for most booked appointments 48 hours prior; However, this service will not supersede the “No Show” policy.

It is extremely important that all patients honour their booked appointment times. Failure to do so deprives other patients from receiving needed care in a timely fashion. Our policy stipulates that failure to give sufficient notice to keep a scheduled appointment (24hrs notice) will result in a fee being charged, usually $50.00 for a regular family physician visit and $100.00 for a specialist visit.  Patients who arrive late to their scheduled appointment may not be seen and may be asked to reschedule their appointment to a different day. The no show fees (same as above) will also apply.

You will see our staff before seeing our physician. Your confidentiality is a priority for us; However, you will be asked by staff about your reason of visit and a short history and preliminary physical exams like measuring weight, height, temperature, and blood pressure will be done by staff. Our staff are well trained and they may help our physician in some procedures.

Our clinic will generally see patients based on first come first serve. There may be exceptions like urgencies or fast procedures like injections, wart treatments and dressing changes.

All patients are expected to return for follow-up on all test results with the ordering physician. However, doctors review the results as soon as they receive them and always get in touch with you for significant results that need follow-up on. If in doubt, please just come back to the clinic to discuss results in person. Typically, you are expected to return if your symptoms remain or if you worsen, even if the doctor does not call you back. Please be advised that we will contact you ONLY ONCE using the phone number you have given us; so, you need to make sure that you update your current contact info at all times.

Results will not be given over the phone due to confidentiality of our patients.  Also, our receptionists are not medical experts and cannot assist you with your health concerns.

Test results will be given only to the patient and not a family member unless a written authorization has been previously given and signed by the patient to that specific person. In this case, the person receiving the information is liable to transfer the results to the patient. The doctor and clinic will not be liable in this case. But if the patient has more concerns and wants to discuss the results further, we will be happy to discuss it in person with the patient. Mature minor patients regardless of age in Ontario have the right to privacy and information about them will not be given to others without their written consent.

Please find out before leaving the clinic how long it will take for the results to come in. Approximate time for test results after performing the tests are as follows: General Blood Work: 1-3 business days, PAP Test: 2-4 weeks, Public Health Tests (Infections like STI’s): 5-10 business days, Regular X-rays and Ultrasounds: 1-3 days, CT or MRI: 1-2 weeks, Biopsies: 2-3 weeks.

Medications will not be renewed over the phone or faxes received from pharmacies for renewal. Your presence is needed in order to get the renewal prescription. Controlled medications including but not limited to narcotics, sleeping pills, and stimulants will not be renewed at all by our Urgent Care physician. These should be renewed only by your regular prescriber.

The patient is asked to give us a specialist of choice if available; and if not, we fax the referral to ONLY ONE of the specialists we have in our address book when the referral letter is written by the physician. If a patient wants to change the specialist to a different one, clinic will do so with an extra charge of $20 due to extra work for staff. The time to see the specialist is not controlled by us, so we do our best to inform you as soon as we hear from the specialist. We call the phone number provided by the patient ONLY ONE time and if no answer, we leave a message. The onus is on the patient to reply back to us, otherwise the cancellation or probable no show fee incurred will be the patient’s responsibility. Elective referrals will not be done by Urgent Care physician but can be done if you are registered as a family practice patient. HMC is only responsible to fax the referral letter electronically to the appropriate specialist. Due to high volume of referrals done in our clinic, we may not be able to track all of them. Patients are responsible to follow up with us or the specialist office.

There are some services that are not OHIP-covered and need to be paid by patient.

Some examples are sick notes, employers’ forms, driver’s physical exams, university forms, travel visits, cosmetic procedures like removal of skin tags and moles, Botox and filler injections. You can find the list under Resources menu. Fees are subject to change and vary depending on type of service.

It is the responsibility of the patient to pay in advance for any uninsured services that needs to be done by the doctor.

Please note – fees are non-refundable.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR UNINSURED SERVICES RATES

Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) forms will not be filled by walk-in doctor. Please see a family doctor for these forms.

Other forms that require sufficient knowledge of patient’s medical history will not be completed by a walk-in doctor.

Please inform the receptionist of any forms needed to be filled out prior to seeing the doctor. OHIP does not pay for form completion. If in doubt, please ask staff for OHIP coverage.

Forms may not be filled in by the physician the same day. We may need up to one month to complete your form.

Patients who suffer injuries at work are welcome. At the reception, they will be asked some questions about their work details and incident. Employers’ forms besides WSIB standard forms are not covered by WSIB.

IFH

Patients on IFH Program are not seen by our walk-in physician.

Canadians from all provinces but Quebec are covered provided that they have a valid Health Card of their province. Quebec Canadians have to pay out of pocket. They will be given a receipt to claim based on their province payments. The amount paid and the procedure will not be handled by our clinic.

Non-Canadians will be seen with a valid ID. The fee paid is only for that visit and does not include following visits, medications, tests, and probable specialists’ referrals.

If you have an invalid OHIP or Health Card from other Provinces-other than Quebec, you will be required to put a deposit. You will need to validate the card and present it to our clinic ASAP. We will reimburse you only and as soon as clinic is paid. You are responsible to bring your receipt for reimbursement. Refund will be done only to the receipt owner. Please do not contact our clinic for your reimbursement queries. Our staff will contact you for your deposit refund as soon as it is available.

That is an un-insured service. That should be paid by patient or third party. We will not disclose patient chart without written patient consent except for rare cases like College audits or Court orders.

We protect your personal information through appropriate security measures for 10 years after your last visit with us or 10 years after 18 year of age for minors. We strive to keep your information accurate, up to date and complete. That is your responsibility to keep us informed of the changes ASAP. We destroy them at that time and you will not be able to obtain your data anymore. Obtaining or transferring your results or chart is an uninsured service and clinic charges for labour cost and material used. Please refer to uninsured services section for the fee. We need to receive a written request for this matter. HMC gives you the requested information within a reasonable time and cost. There are, however, exceptions, such as disclosure would threaten someone else’s life or security.

Termination of the doctor-patient relationship can be done at any time and initiated by either party. If a patient feels that the relationship is not working out, they can seek a new doctor. A doctor can equally decide if the relationship is not therapeutic, and if necessary will notify the patient. If you miss a booked appointment without 24 hour cancellation and do not pay the associated “No Show” fee or are abusive towards any staff member, you will be discharged from the clinic. HMC has zero tolerance for abuse towards the staff.

Our front staff are specially chosen and trained to help patients. We understand that there are many reasons why you may need to visit our office and we make every effort to make your visit as pleasant and comfortable as possible. In turn, we ask that your behaviour is respectful to our staff. There is a zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and may lead to dismissal from the practice. If you have any problems associated with your visit, please contact us through the website email in writing.

In order to provide you with the best possible care, a satisfactory doctor patient relationship is necessary. If for any reason, this relationship becomes compromised, then it may be best for both parties to end the relationship. If this occurs, then we will provide emergency medical care for one month or when the patient finds a new family doctor, whichever comes first.

Definition

Walk-in Clinic: Medical practices that provide care to patients where there may be no existing association between the patient and the practice, where there may be no requirement to book appointments, and where the care provided is generally, although not always, episodic in nature. This includes urgent care centres, but does not include hospital-based emergency departments.

Supporting Patients

Patients are reminded:

a. That there are differences between episodic care and care that is provided as part of a sustained physician-patient relationship;

b. About the benefits of seeing their primary care provider for care within their physician’s scope of practice;

c. About the benefits of having a primary care provider and encouraging them to seek one out, if they don’t already have one.

Staff and physicians practising in HMC are willing to assist patients in finding a primary care provider.

Meeting the Standard of Practice

Physicians practising in HMC walk-in clinic will conduct any assessments, tests, or investigations that are required in order for them to appropriately provide treatment and will provide or arrange for appropriate follow-up care. However, physicians practising in HMC walk-in clinic may limit the care or services they provide due to the episodic nature of walk-in clinic care and may make decisions to limit the services they provide due to the episodic nature of walk-in clinic care in good faith; and they communicate any limitations to patients in a clear and straightforward manner; and communicate appropriate next steps to patients seeking care or services that are not provided, considering factors such as the urgency of the patient’s needs and whether other health-care providers are involved in the patient’s care.

Managing Tests and Referrals

Physicians practising within HMC walk-in clinic who order tests will review and provide appropriate follow-up on test results or referrals sent including reviewing consultation reports; However, some referrals may not be done in a walk-in setting and be required to be done by the patient’s family physician. 

Coordinating with Primary Care Providers

Physicians practising in HMC walk-in clinic may provide the patient’s primary care provider (if there is one) with a record of the encounter when:

a. The patient makes a request to do so; or

b. In their opinion, one is warranted from a patient safety or care perspective and the patient has provided consent to do so.

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