Patient Information
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Phones Please note our phone lines can be extremely busy, especially first thing in the morning and immediately after the lunch hour, we thank you for your patience and assure you we will answer your call as quickly as possible. Phones are answered from 8:30am until 12pm and from 1:00pm until 4:00pm, Monday through Thursday and on Fridays from 8:30am until 12pm. On Saturdays, our phones will be answered from 8:00am until 9:00am for any and all urgent care bookings. Phones are not answered after 9:00am during the After Hour Clinics on Saturday. Please note our phone lines can be extremely busy, especially first thing in the morning and immediately after the lunch hour. Changes to Services Covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan As of October 1, 2019, OHIP has revised the eligibility for patients requesting ear syringing. When not deemed medically necessary, the patient will be responsible for payment. Please ask your provider if this is applicable to you. OHIP has also revised coverage for pregnancy testing. If it is deemed not medically necessary, the patient will be responsible for payment. Please ask your provider if this is applicable to you. Accessing Care All visits are by appointment only. We encourage all patients to arrive a minimum of 10 minutes in advance of their scheduled appointment. This will allow us to get you checked in and the Medical Office Assistants/Nursing to do an intake assessment, maximizing your time with your physician. Should you arrive late, your appointment may need to be rescheduled. Appointments may be made in person, on the phone or online through our website. Completion of Third Party Forms Physicians are often asked to complete forms requested by third parties on behalf of patients. These forms are an uninsured service that is not covered under your Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Please speak to your doctor or staff ahead of time to ascertain the cost of completion. Please be aware that absent a specific legal requirement, the College of Physicians and Surgeons expects that physicians will complete and submit third party reports within 45 days. Forms are released at the time of payment. Only forms that specify the physician must submit, will be sent in by Rideau Crossing. All other forms are the responsibility of the patient to submit. Due to privacy regulations, if you wish an alternate to pick up completed forms, please ensure you request a release of information form when dropping off your original forms. Cancelling Appointments We request 24 hours notice when cancelling appointments. If you are calling after business hours you can access the cancellation line by pressing 1 and at the second prompt press 2. Please ensure you’re leaving a clear message with your name, date of birth, physician who you were seeing and the date and time of the appointment. Please note that you will not receive a call or email to confirm your cancellation. Any messages regarding rebookings will not be answered. You must call the clinic to schedule another appointment. If you find you need to unexpectedly need to cancel an appointment on the day in which it is scheduled, please contact our office immediately. Missed Appointments/Last Minute Cancellations No show appointments and last minute cancellation, have a significant impact on the provision of quality health care and wait times for appointments. When a patient does not show up at the appointed time, or doesn’t give sufficient notice, there is no time to give that appointment to anyone else, resulting in wasted time for the physician. More importantly, it means delay or lost opportunity for another patient who may need to be seen as soon as possible. A Missed Fee will apply. Urgent Appointments Our physicians keep a limited amount of urgent same day appointments for minor issues which may arise, such as ear infection, sore throat, bladder infection. If you wish to schedule an appointment for an acute problem it is best to call first thing in the morning as these appointments can go quickly.
Transferring Physicians within Rideau Crossing Rideau Crossing Family Health patients occasionally ask whether they are able to switch to a different physician, either after the initial intake/first visit appointment or after receiving care from their assigned physician. Rideau Crossing does not allow patients to switch physicians. Please refer to the Office Policy section on our web page.
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