2022 Update!

CHANGES IN THE OFFICE:

December 2022 Office

Dr. Laura returned to the Office in September 2022 but because of her additional Childcare responsibilities she is pleased to announce that Dr Brush will stay on as a Locum physician 1 to 2 days a week and one evening After Hours clinic per week

Kim is leaving the office at the end of December to commence her new career by starting nursing school

New phone system installed in November hopefully will put an end to problems of dropped phone calls and inability to contact office!!

IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ Politics of Medicine

The Ontario and Canadian Healthcare Crisis

Interesting information about our healthcare system.

In 1990 Canada had 33,403 Hospital beds
in 2016 Canada had 18,571 hospital beds
Ontario has 2.3 hospital beds per thousand people
The Canadian average is 3.3 hospital beds per thousand people

The top rated European healthcare systems:

France has 6.6 hospital beds per thousand people
Germany has 8.2 hospital beds per thousand people
Germany has 4.13 MDs per thousand people
The Canadian average is 2.3 MDs per thousand people
Canada has 0.9 health bureaucrats per thousand people
Germany has 0.06 health bureaucrats per thousand people
Canada has 15 healthcare bureaucrats for every 1 German healthcare bureaucrat.

Unfortunately Ontario is promising even more healthcare bureaucrats.

In other words,

Canada has one health bureaucrat per 1415 people
Germany has one health bureaucrat per 15,545 people

Any ideas why our healthcare system is so expensive and yet we get much poorer healthcare results compared to other healthcare systems?

OUR WEBSITE

I have been listing our closures/ changes on the main page- please check this before you come into the office so you know if there is any changes for that day!

We will be rolling out a Virtual visit however with this in mind the office MUST have your up to date email address as well as a email consent

INTRODUCTION OF TABLETS!!

Why we are using a tablet prior to most visits:

As many patients have seen, we are now using a computer tablet on checking in at reception with Kim or Mary. The tablet is set up prior to your appointment with a variety of questions about the reason for your visit . It will also immediately update your demographics, email and OHIP version codes,as it is directly connected to your personal medical chart. It is important for us to have updated addresses and phone numbers so we can follow your healthcare accurately and be able to get in contact with you for any specialist appointments or important tests that you may need. Please make sure that our office has your PHARMACY INFORMATION.

It is really quite a fantastic advancement in medical history taking. As you are filling out the tablet in the reception area while you wait, the answers are added directly to the electronic medical record in real time, even before Dr. Foster has seen you in the examination room. Many studies have shown that in the non-stressed environment of the reception area without the doctor or office staff present, many people actually give a more comprehensive history than when they are stressed at the Dr.'s arrival in the exam room.

If you are in for repeat visits for the same concerns , you will be filling out the same questionnaire each time as it is important to see if anything has changed since your last visit.

Please cooperate with the office staff when they ask at time of booking 'why you need to see the doctor' in order to give you the best questionnaire pertaining to your visit and so you can be booked appropriately with the correct amount of time.

For almost every visit to the office, we will attempt to incorporate a tablet questionnaire

OUR NON COVID APPOINTMENTS SYSTEM:

We have been getting an overwhelming amount of support for this new scheduling system of same day appointments. While most patients have expressed their satisfaction and surprise in being able to obtain an appointment on the same day of calling, we recognize that there is still some bother at having to call the next day, if all appointment slots are taken on any particular day. If patients can truly adhere to one simple 2-5 minute problem, then we can attempt to "squeeze" more patients in..

We have dedicated certain times for any longer appointments (ie paps, periodic health exams, minor in-office surgery procedures, counseling -THESE TYPES OF APPOINTMENTS ARE NOT FOR SAME-DAY BOOKING OR WALK-IN CLINICS- PLEASE CALL AHEAD TO PRE-BOOK) The 'special' pre-booked appointments are limited and fill fast. We are booking 2 - 3 weeks out, so please advise us as soon as possible if you need one of these appointments.

SAME DAY BOOKINGS: Phones are answered at 9:30, please patiently wait in the queue until your call is answered. We acknowledge that our 4 incoming phone lines can get busy. Please stay on the line and staff will get to you. If you wait to call after 10am YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE SEEN THAT DAY and will need to call back the next day. EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM REMEMBER! Please do not call at 930 for a long phone discussion with Mary or Kim. Save those enquiries for the afternoon when phones are not so frantic

WALK IN CLINIC: We have changed Monday's walk-in clinic hours, you can now walk in with no appointment between 10:00 to 1:00. We have extended Monday's afternoon SAME-DAY bookings to 2:00-4:00. ( anything after 4 is reserved for counseling and 'special' appointments ONLY )

Wednesday Walk-In clinic runs from 12noon til 430pm. After the rush from 12 til 1pm this clinic frequently is not very busy from 3 til 430pm.

Please remember that we offer PRE BOOKED appointments on Wednesday evenings from 5:00-8:00, You may book these appointments on the prior Tuesday or Wednesday, the day of . Bookings commence at 5:00 pm and can be of a longer nature .

There is no secure email capability at this time although we are exploring more options and our experience with COVID will change how medicine is practiced in the future.

We are developing capability to have video appointments which require an EMail address. There will always be privacy issues to work out and nothing is perfect yet! We still require everyone's email addresses as we now have a limited capability to send general practice updates regarding Covid updates, changes in office procedures, arrival of flu shots, over due tests ( paps, mammograms, etc...) During Covid we have asked patients to send DISCRETE!! pictures of their rashes, skin lesions, throats and swollen joints.

If you do not wish to be emailed from our office please ensure that we do not have your email address. If we have your email our assumption is that we can use it.

Please be assured No personal medical information will be discussed on this site OR via any online communications

WE ALSO REMIND YOU THAT THE SITE IS ONLY MONITORED MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9 TO 4.

EMAIL IS NOT INTENDED FOR ANY URGENT MEDICAL PROBLEM