GLEN ERIN FAMILY MEDICINE



 2318 Dunwin Dr, Unit 11 Mississauga, ON L5L 1C7            PH: 905.828.1145

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I CONTACT Glen Erin Family Medicine? 

• Call us
• Use the Indivicare’s Communicate feature

How do I get my prescriptions repeated ? 

• Effective February 1st, we will no longer accept prescription renewal faxes from the pharmacy -       patients must initiate renewal requests
• Contact us for an appointment at least 4 weeks before your medications run out to   book an            appointment
• Prescription can be renewed without appointment if the physician or nurse practitioner deems       it  appropriate AND for a fee of $25

• Contact your pharmacist to refill a short course of your prescriptions for a fee

How long does it take to get a referral to a specialist or for special testing (e.g. MRI, cardiac testing, etc?

 For urgent issues, you should hear within 2 weeks For non urgent issues, you should hear within 6 weeks. Contact the provider of the service (specialist or special testing centre) if you do not hear within the specified time period. If there is a problem after that, contact  us. 

How long does it take to get TEST RESULTS?

No news is not good news. If you do not hear back about your test results within 4 weeks of completion, please contact the office. The secretary cannot give you the results without approval from the ordering nurse practitioner or physician - but should be able to tell you if we have a specific result back and if the provider has reviewed it. (e.g we have your MRI vs we have your urine test) 

Why does it take so long to get an APPOINTMENT?

• Time sensitive issues like pain, worsening mental health, and infections are targeted to be seen,
   within 2 weeks depending on the urgency determined by the secretary. 

 • If on the phone, the more accurate you are about your symptom and the duration of the
    symptom, the easier it will be for the secretary to appropriately triage you. 

 • Preventive health checks, “need a referral”, forms and “need an MRI” will be booked at
    4 weeks or longer. 

 • No Shows and Last minute cancellations also contribute to longer wait times
   - be considerate and give us 24 hours notice if possible.

Why do you charge for NO SHOWS and LAST MINUTE CANCELATIONS?

• If you have a valid reason, you will not be charged. 

• No Shows and Last minute cancellations contribute to longer wait times - be considerate
   and give us 24 hours notice if possible. 

• If you have Three (3) No Shows or Last Minute Cancellations without valid reason,
   you will be discharged from our practice.

Why do you charge for some services?

• Some services are not covered by OHIP, hence we ask our patients to pay for our
    time and expertise.

• We cannot bill OHIP for something not covered by OHIP, that is illegal 

• Please see our Uninsured Services document for a listing of services and costs

Why do I have to be in Ontario for PHONE appointments? 

• Our medical and nurse practitioner licenses are for Ontario only, hence it
   is illegal for us to provide medical care to those outside the province. 

Why do I have to wear a MASK?

We ask all our patients to wear masks to protect our secretaries, physicians, nurse practitioners, and other patients which include newborns, cancer patients, those on immunosuppressants and those with multiple cardiac and respiratory conditions. No one comes to the family doctor for fun - there are no other options for them to get the necessity of healthcare. In addition, sick people DO come to our office - with coughs, fevers, etc. You want to keep masked for your own protection. We strive to make this a safe environment for those most vulnerable to illness. In our office, the rights of the individual do not trump the rights of the many others who come to our office. 

Why won’t you see me when I’m LATE for an appointment, don’t you run late?

We are late when a patient needs more time - this is unpredictable. If we booked everyone for 30 minute appointments, our wait times would be months. When we book 15 minute appointments, inevitably, someone will need more time. We would do this for any patient. We ask everyone to prioritize their issues and re-book if there are multiple complicated issues. We do not want to inconvenience our next patients to cover multiple non urgent issues.

Patients would not be so accepting of us running late because our patients were late. We cannot rush through appointments as it would make for bad care. So we re-book instead unless we can see openings in our schedule due to cancellations, etc. 

Why are you sending me to the Emergency Room?

Sometimes, based on very little information we can tell you would be best served going to the ER for time sensitive testing AND observation that is impossible to deliver through our office. There are times the secretary will advise you based on our triaging guidelines. If you are advised to go by a physician or nurse practitioner and refuse to go, it will be documented in the chart that you are going against medical advice. 

How do I give FEEDBACK?

• Talk to your provider and have an open and honest conversation