INFORMATION and QUESTIONS
Information
Health Cards:
It is crucial that the office has accurate information on every patient. Please bring your HEALTH CARD to EVERY appointment and/or walk-in clinic visit. If your Health Card is not valid, your appointment will not be covered by OHIP and therefore a cash fee will apply and be due at time of visit - see our page Uninsured Services for a list of these fees.
Missed appointments:
12-24 hours notice for the cancellation of an appointment is appreciated. However, the office is understanding that emergencies due come up and notice can not always be given.
Referrals:
It can take 3-4 weeks or longer for a specialist's office or certain diagnostic testing center's to get back to our office regarding the scheduling of a consultation appointment or diagnostic test. If you have not heard from our office within 4 weeks, please feel free to contact the office.
Test Results:
We do not routinely call patients with normal test results. If there is a concern about your results you will be contacted. All reports are reviewed by the doctor or nurse practitioner prior to filing. Patients should feel free to contact the office at anytime regarding test results, weather it be to confirm receipt of the results or to check on the status of the findings.
Pre-Op Forms:
Pre-op forms are no longer required for surgery and are therefore, no longer covered under OHIP. A specialist may request that you get a CPP from your family doctor, please call the office and we can fax this to the specialist.
WSIB Forms: An appointment is required to complete WSIB forms; fee for these forms is typically covered by WSIB.
Personal Life Insurance Forms: These forms are typically submitted to our office directly from the Insurance Company. These are normally completed in 6-8 weeks. The invoice is sent directly to the issuing Insurance Company, unless otherwise noted by the insurance company that payment is the patient's responsibility.
Accepted forms of Payment: Fees are payable by either cash or Interac e-Transfer. The office staff can provide the specific email address for Interac e-Transfer
Covid 19 - Links to information and booking an appointment for vaccination:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-coronavirus
https://www.halton.ca/For-Residents/New-Coronavirus
https://wdgpublichealth.ca/fall-covid-flu-and-rsv-vaccineshttps://www.peelregion.ca/coronavirus/
The Covid-19 vaccination is NOT provided at Acton Medical and Urgent Care
Questions
How to schedule an appointment:
What to do in case of an emergency:
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In an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.
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Health811(formerly known as Telehealth) is a free, confidential service that you can call or access online 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get health advice from a registered nurse
Telephone: 811 or 1-866-797-0000
Live chat: www.healthconnectontario.health.gov.on.ca/static/guest/home
A Registered Nurse will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can not diagnose your illness or give you medicine; however they will direct you to the most appropriate level of care or may put you in contact with a health professional who can advise you on your next steps. The registered nurse will help you decide whether to: handle a problem yourself, visit your doctor or nurse practitioner, go to a clinic, contact a community service or go to a hospital emergency room.
Are there services that OHIP does not pay for?
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Yes, please see our page Uninsured Services for further information and fees.
Forms:
Do I need an appointment to have a form completed?
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An appointment is required to complete a WSIB form.
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For Dr. Jayalath' s patients an appointment is required prior to her completing forms
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For Dr. Alshakarji, Dr. Raouf-Alkadhimi or Dr. Abboud patients, an appointment may not be necessary; email or drop the forms off to the office (be sure that your portion of the form has been completed). Your doctor will review the form and if they determine an appointment is required you will be contacted by the office to arrange that. If they are able to complete the form without an appointment, the office will contact you once the form has been completed.
How long will it take for my form to be completed?
Estimated/Average Timeframe for Form Completion:
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Dr. N. Alshakarji: 1-3 business days
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Dr. D. Jayalath: 2 weeks minimum
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Dr. A. Raouf-Alkadhimi: 1-3 business days
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Dr. R. Abboud: 2 weeks minimum
Is there a fee for completion of forms?
In most cases, yes. OHIP does not cover the completion of the most forms, therefore it is considered an uninsured service and payment is the responsibility of the patient. See our page Uninsured Services for fee information.
Referrals and Investigations:
What happens when I am referred to a specialist for consultation?
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Once the Family Doctor or the Nurse Practitioner has made the referral, the staff at our referral desk will fax the referral to the specialist office. The specialist office will then contact the patient directly to arrange a consultation appointment.
As per updates in 2019 from the CPSO College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
Specialist Office's are expected to acknowledge referrals in a timely manner, urgently-if necessary, but no later than 14 days from the date of receipt. (However, typically our office has found that this frame tends to be between 4-8 weeks.)
Specialist Office's are expected to communicate the anticipated wait time or the appointment date and time directly to the patient. When an anticipated wait time is provided, the specialist will then follow-up at a later time with the patient directly once an appointment has been set. (This information may be relayed to the referring physician's office as well, but not always.)
Specialist Office's are expected to inform the referring doctor's office if they are not able to accept the referral.
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Patients are welcome to contact our office to inquire about Specialist Contact information, if you wish to check on the status of the referral.
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It is your responsibility to ensure that you record the appointment date and time for your consultation as provided to you by the Specialist Office. The Specialist Office does not necessarily provide our office with this information.
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Make sure that you attend your appointment.
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If you need to cancel or reschedule your specialist appointment, make sure to provide their office with the appropriate amount of time to do this. Most specialist offices require a minimum of 48 hours notice for a cancellation, some require upwards of 1-2 weeks. The majority of specialist offices charge a significant fee for last minute cancellations and missed/no show appointments and they will not reschedule the appointment until the fee has been paid.
What happens when I am referred for investigative, diagnostic studies i.e X-Ray, Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI?
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Blood work, Urinalysis, ECG/EKG, Spirometry: you will be given a requisition and you can attend a lab of your choice for the test. Most labs do not require an appointment for most tests. Not all Labs perform ECG/EKG or Spirometry. See our Lab & Imaging page for local locations.
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X-ray, ultrasound, mammogram, bone mineral density(BMD): you will be given a requisition and you can attend an Imaging Centre of your choice. X-ray and bone mineral density(BMD) are typically walk-in and do NOT require an appointment. Ultrasound and mammogram require an appointment; you will need to call the location of your choice to arrange this appointment. See our Lab & Imaging page for local locations.
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Echocardiogram, Holter Monitor, Bone Scan, Urgent Venous Doppler, CT scan and MRI are arranged by the office. Speak with our referral desk to arrange these if you haven't already: 519-853-4449