Family Practice Health Centre (FPHC)

Appointments are available for registered patients of Family Practice:

Saturday 9:00 AM – 1:45 PM

Appointments must be booked the same day between 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Walk-in appointments are accepted, but pre-booked Saturday appointments take precedence over walk-ins unless there is a triaged medical urgency.

Urgent Care Appointments are available by appointment only.

Monday to Thursday 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

For patients seeking medical advice when the office is closed.

Monday to Friday: 5 p.m. to 9 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 24 hours

1-866-553-7205

In an emergency, you should call 911 or go to your local hospital emergency department.

If you are more than 20 weeks pregnant and have an urgent concern, please call 416-323-6400 ext. 4141 and ask to speak to the family practice OB doctor on call.

If you do not receive a call back within 30 min, please go to triage at Mount Sinai Hospital or call 911

There are many resources available for both patients and health care professionals. The following are websites that will provide the answers to many questions you may have about your health and primary care:

Best Start Feeding Your Baby – A Guide to Help you Introduce Solid Foods

This guide for parents provides information about feeding their baby from six months to one year. It has information and answers questions they may have about breastfeeding and starting solid foods.

MyCancerIQ

Making a few changes to your lifestyle can go a long way towards reducing your risk of cancer. My CancerIQ is an online risk assessment tool that helps determine your cancer risk, relative to other Ontarians, and creates a personalized plan to take control.

• Build your cancer risk profile. Answer key questions about lifestyle, family history and screening history.
• Determine your cancer risk. See which factors are affecting your risk.
• Learn how you can reduce your risk. Take control of your cancer risk with a Health Action Plan offering links to trusted Canadian health resources to help you.

Get your report at MyCancerIQ.ca

We generally do NOT call patients with test results. Appropriate followup will be arranged; please speak to your individual healthcare team. Due to the large number of patient visits (70,000/year), we discourage calling for test results.

You can access test results through MyHealthRecord.

Please Note: My Health Record is not linked to your Family Practice chart, do not send any messages to your provider through My Health Record.

We require 24 hours notice for the cancellation of an appointment. You may be billed for improperly cancelled or missed appointments.

Telephone Health Advisory Service (THAS)

For patients seeking medical advice when the office is closed.
Monday to Friday: 5 p.m. to 9 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 24 hours
1-866-553-7205

In an emergency, you should call 911 or go to your local hospital emergency department

After Hours Prenatal Care

If you are more than five months pregnant and are experiencing an emergency, or if you are in labour, please call 416-323-6400 ext. 4141 and ask to speak to the doctor on call for family practice obstetrics.

There is a weekly Saturday clinic with appointments available from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. for registered Family Practice patients. Please call between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on the same day to book an appointment. Walk-in appointments are accepted based on availability, however, pre-booked Saturday appointments take precedence over walk-ins, unless there is a triaged medical urgency.

Flu shots are recommended for all Canadians 6 months and older. It is especially important if you are 6 months- 5 years old, over 65, pregnant or have a chronic health condition (such as lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, etc.).

Team secretary

The secretaries schedule your appointments and are responsible for validating your health card at each visit. Please advise a team secretary of changes to your address, telephone number or health card.

Nurse

The family practice nurses work with you and your doctor to help you stay well. Our nurses have the experience and skills to assist with health concerns and are usually involved in some aspect of your visit, such as health teaching and history taking.

Doctor

The family practice doctor provides and coordinates your total health care. Your doctor may be a staff physician, fellow or resident doctor.

Staff physicians

Experienced family physicians and are members of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Fellows

Qualified family doctors who are completing advanced training in family medicine. Resident doctors are licensed physicians, learning the specialty of family medicine.

Residents

Supervised by staff physicians. Most residents are with us for two years; when they leave, their patients are typically reassigned to incoming residents with the same supervisor, on the same team.

Nurse Practitioner

The family practice nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice nurse who specializes in primary health care. The NP, who may be your primary care provider, can assess and treat minor illnesses and monitor stable chronic diseases. The NP works independently and in collaboration with a consulting physician.

Dietitians

The family practice dietitians are available for individual counselling related to special dietary needs. Please discuss referrals with your nurse, family physician, or nurse practitioner.

Social Workers

The family practice social workers provide individual and couples’ counselling related to a variety of psychosocial issues. Please discuss referrals with your nurse, family physician or nurse practitioner.

Occupational Therapist

The family practice occupational therapist helps with specific issues around work related or repetitive injuries, and assesses and improves functioning in activities of daily living. Assessment of mobility issues and custom splinting is also offered.

Pharmacist

The family practice pharmacist is available to help answer any questions you may have about your medications. The pharmacist also works together with you and your health care team to identify, prevent and solve any issues related to your medications. Please discuss referrals with your nurse, family physician, or nurse practitioner.

We are not accepting new family practice patients at this time, however we are always accepting new obstetrics patients.

If you are looking for a family doctor, you can also register for the Healthcare Connects program by calling 1-800-445-1822 between Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m or visiting www.ontario.ca/healthcareconnect.

• Health Care Connect

You can also visit our Find a Doctor page for more information.

Uninsured Services

The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) pays for the majority of your medical care however, you may need some services that are not deemed by OHIP as medically necessary. Some examples of these uninsured services include writing sick notes, charges for missed appointments, and completing forms for daycare, insurance, legal or employment purposes. In the past, we have not always charged for these services, however this is no longer sustainable. Moving forward, patients will be charged for all uninsured services.
When fees are charged for uninsured services, they are based on the Ontario Medical Association (OMA)’s suggested fees as found in the most current edition of the OMA Physician’s Guide to Third Party and Other Uninsured Services.

Tips to avoid being charged:

• If you are unable to make an appointment, please cancel it at least 24 hours in advance.
• Check with your employer to verify if you really need a sick note. Frequently it is not required.
• Check with your school/camp if a physician’s signature is required on medical forms – often it is not.
• Check with your insurance provider or workplace to find out who is responsible for any fees before having a form completed.

While traditionally many patients would come to their family doctor once a year for an “annual physical”, there is no scientific evidence that this prevents disease or saves lives. In fact, an annual physical can actually do more harm than good! As a result, in 2012, OHIP eliminated the Annual Health Exam and replaced it with the Periodic Health Exam.

A periodic health exam is an appointment that focuses on health prevention. Lifestyle changes such as exercise, limiting alcohol, and quitting smoking have all been proven to improve your health and will be reviewed at your Periodic Health Exam. Age-appropriate cancer screening tests, required blood work (if any), and immunizations will also be reviewed. A full head to toe exam is not necessary, and instead your doctor will do a focused physical exam based on your current health. The appointment is not meant to address all your “saved up” health concerns. Patients may be asked to book a follow up appointment should they have multiple health concerns in order to comprehensively address each issue.

Periodic Health Exams are NOT required annually for most patients. Many people in their 20s may go a few years without one, while those older than 65 or with multiple medical problems may need one more frequently. Check with your primary care provider to find out what is right for you. The BETTER Women program (see below under ‘Medical Updates’ section) is a fantastic option for women ages 40 -68.
Patients should book a regular appointment if at any time they feel unwell or have an acute concern. Patients with chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes will have more frequent monitoring visits in addition to their Periodic Health Exam.