Appointment Arrival

Arrive 10 minutes early for your appointment. In general, we try very hard to keep all appointments exactly on time - this requires that patients arrive, register and are placed in the room by staff by the time the appointment starts. If you arrive at the desk at the time of the appointment you are making the provider late for the rest of the appointments for the day. At times a patient might arrive in crisis and might medically require substantially more time than they were scheduled for - this cannot be fully avoided and might make your provider late.

Appointment Length

It is important to make an appointment with the medical staff so that they can assist you with booking you in to see an appropriate provider for the health concern you are experiencing. Most appointments have a designated length of time of 15-minutes, however some appointments (Ex: physicals, special consults, etc..), require more time. If you are experiencing multiple health concerns, you may need to make multiple appointments. It is helpful when you inform the medical staff of the reason for your visit, as it allows the clinic to stay on schedule and keep patient wait times to a minimum. Our Providers will only assess, diagnose and treat ONE healthcare concern/issues per visit, per patient. Wait time estimates by the staff are estimates only. Staff cannot control the amount of time a patient will take with the provider. If you are unable to continue your wait, please let the staff know to reschedule your visit

Email/Telephone Calls

Email and telephone calls to MedCare Clinics should be made only to discuss appointments (bookings, cancellations, etc.). If you have health-related questions, please book an appointment or visit the clinic as a walk-in patient. Medical questions will only be answered by our medical providers. Imaging and lab results are not provided over the phone. We understand your health is important – but yelling, swearing, verbal or physical abuse of staff and providers or any disruptive behavior will NOT be tolerated and you will be asked to leave the clinic and will be discharged from our services.

Forms & Specialist Referrals

All forms requiring completion should be presented at time of registration at the facility. Completion of forms are subject to additional fees and are completed at the discretion of the healthcare provider. Before any specialist referral is arranged, you must book an appointment with our provider for pre-consultation information gathering and investigations to facilitate a faster and more effective consultation with the specialist. All specialist referrals will be made at the discretion of the healthcare provider.

Lab/Imaging Results

All new blood work, imaging or other test results are reviewed daily by a healthcare provider. You will be notified directly of any abnormal results. We do not routinely call patients with normal or negative test results. If you are concerned, please schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss your results with your healthcare provider.

Missed/Cancelled Appointments

MedCare Clinics enforces a strict cancellation policy to maximize patient access to their healthcare provider, and therefore a 24-hour notice is required for all appointment cancellations. A cancellation/no-show fee will be charged for all missed appointments without 24-hour notice. All cancellations must be requested during clinic hours. If appropriate notice is not given, you will be charged for each missed appointment.

Patient Questionnaire

Upon arriving for your first visit at MedCare Clinics, you must fill out a Patient Questionnaire. The questionnaire provides the Provider with an outline of your medical history to ensure you are receiving the best care possible. If you refuse to fill out the Intake Form, you will unfortunately not be able to meet with a Provider. MedCare Clinics operate under a Shared Care model which consists of Physicians, Multidisciplinary Specialists, Nurse Practitioners, Pharmacists, Allergist, Cardiologists, OBGYNs, Phlebotomists, Physician Assistants and Administration.

Prescription Renewal

You may ask for a prescription renewal at any visit. This is the preferred method to obtain medication refills. We do not routinely fill prescriptions by a telephone, email or fax request. Please call at least 2-weeks prior to running out of medication to book an appointment to monitor your progress on the medication. If you have run out of medications prior to your next visit and a fax prescription renewal is needed, a fee will be charged. This is an 'uninsured service'. Our current charge for this service is $5 per prescription renewal. In addition, we would prefer you contact your pharmacy directly and have them contact our office with the renewal request, if necessary. This policy does not apply to 'blister-packs'.

Third Party Coverage

For all medical services not covered by OHIP, payment is required at the time of service. MedCare Clinics provides all patients with the required receipts and documents for submission to insurance companies or any 3rd party coverage providers. Please note that each patient's insurance agreement is an agreement between themselves and the insurance company directly. In the event that any insurance company or 3rd party coverage provider does not completely reimburse or even rejects any health service claim provided at MedCare Clinics, the patient is still responsible for all fees.

Please refer to our Insurance Partners page for details pertaining to MedCare Clinics’ affiliated insurance partners.

Uninsured Services

Certain services are not paid for by OHIP and will be charged to you directly. Such services include completing forms, sick notes, transferring medical records, travel advice and procedures not deemed 'medically necessary' such as cosmetic procedures. Should you request one of these services, you will be advised of the charge and must agree to it prior to the service being completed. Payment is required at the time the service is completed. Cash is only accepted. Locations have ATMS on-site which are accessible for cash withdrawals. The fees assigned are as per the recommendations of the provincial medical association. That said, we realize and will always take into consideration that some patients may not be able to pay for these services. Please do not hesitate to inform us if these charges pose a financial hardship to you. Alternative arrangements can be made. Details on uninsured services can be accessed on our website.

What to bring at each visit

For all medical services, a valid OHIP card must be presented before each visit to receive medical care. In the event an expired or invalid OHIP card is presented, patients will be billed directly for the medical appointment before the appointment. This payment is non-refundable. New patients should also bring all current medications in their bottles (if not practical, a list with name, dose & frequency) as well as any previous medical records to reduce the likelihood that important issues are overlooked with your healthcare.