OFFICE POLICY

v  BOOKING POLICIES 

Due to the demand for appointments, there is a $50 non-refundable administrative fee for all Initial Consult cancellations.

Your Initial Consult is a significant amount of clinic time which is reserved for you to see the physician and the Client Care Coordinator.  It is for this reason that we also charge a $150 fee for no-shows and failure to cancel or reschedule an Initial Consult appointment with less than 72-hour notice (3 business days).

Your review follow-up visits are 30 minute bookings of clinic time and require 24-hour notice to cancel or reschedule; failure to provide this notice will result in a $60 booking fee.  No-shows will also be charged a $60 booking fee.

No further appointments will be scheduled until booking fees are settled.  

Please arrive on time for your appointments.  The physicians do their best to stay on schedule and need your cooperation to do so.  If you arrive late for your appointment, your appointment with your physician will be shortened or you may be asked to reschedule.  There are 3 parking spots behind the building designated for WWC and there is residential parking nearby.

v  PRESCRIPTION RENEWALS - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your physician will provide you with enough prescriptions to last you until your next 30-minute follow-up visit.  Please ensure you have your prescriptions filled at each follow-up visit.  Should you require a prescription refill prior to your follow-up, please have your pharmacy fax a prescription renewal request to 604-738-9605. Your doctor will review the request, review your medical information, and fax the authorization back to your pharmacy of choice.

Please do not leave your prescription renewals to the last minute ~ this creates stress for you and the office staff to try to ensure there is no interruption in your medications.   Allow at least 1 week for the pharmacy to fax the request and the physician to review your chart and the pharmacy to compound your medicines. 

Prescription renewal by telephone or fax requires that your physician review your chart to ensure that it is medically appropriate to renew the prescription.  This also ensures continuity of care.  This requires physician and admin time and as such a $20.00 prescription renewal fee will apply for prescription renewals by telephone or fax.

v  TREATMENT PLANS

      Once a treatment plan is set, try not to alter from the program without discussing with your physician.  Experience has shown that patients who maintain their treatment plan get the fastest and best results. 

v  FOLLOW-UP VISITS

30-MINUTE FOLLOW-UPS

We are committed to providing you with the highest quality of patient care which is why your health plan includes 30-minute follow-ups every 3 months.  It is your responsibility to book these appointments so please bring your personal day planner to every appointment.

10-MINUTE TROUBLESHOOTING CHECK-INS

Should you experience symptoms which require trouble-shooting in between your 30-minute follow-ups, please call our office staff and they can book you a quick 10-minute appointment.  Please be respectful of this time as it will only be used to troubleshoot symptoms.

10-MINUTE TEST RESULT CHECK-INS

WWC office staff cannot give laboratory or x-ray results over the phone.  We do not call patients if test results are normal.  However, if instructed by your physician one of our staff will call you to arrange a 10-minute check-in to review test results.  Please be respectful of this time as it is strictly to review test results only.  Telephone appointments cannot be booked for these appointments with the exception of out-of-town patients. 

v  PRIMARY CARE SERVICES

We do not provide primary care services.  Medical issues unrelated to your care at the Westcoast Women's Clinic are to be handled by your family physician (i.e. sprains, flu, cuts, etc).  If you do not have a family physician, it is advisable that you find one.  Please visit the College of Physicians and Surgeons website at www.cpsbc.ca to locate a GP in your area.

Please ensure the staff has the name and contact info of your GP.  Copies of blood work and investigations will automatically be sent to your GP.  If you do not wish for your GP to receive these for any reason, you must notify our staff.

v  EMERGENCY SERVICES

Our office is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 4pm.  Should you have an urgent medical concern, our office staff will contact one of the physicians during office hours.

If you are in need of emergency services after office hours, call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.  

v  TELEPHONE CALLS

Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.  We are closed for lunch from 12-1pm.  Our telephone lines are very busy and your patience is appreciated.  Please keep your messages brief and include your full name and telephone number and one of our staff will return your call as soon as possible.  Our machine does not record messages during the lunch hour.

Important:  Please leave only ONE message - our call volume is high and leaving repeated messages only increases the amount of time required by staff to go through the messages, which may delay returning YOUR call.

v  EMAIL

      Our email is for general office communications only.  Our physicians do not practice medicine over the internet.  For your medical safety, please do not use this email to communicate medical or appointment information.

v  EXTENDED HEALTH COVERAGE

We do not accept insurance assignments on your extended medical benefits; however we will be happy to provide a detailed letter at the time of service so that you can submit a claim to your insurance company.  Your insurance company may reimburse you directly whatever they determine reasonable as per their own guideline for claims.  Please contact your insurance carrier directly as WWC does not make any guarantee that your extended benefits will cover our preventative health services. 

v  METHOD OF PAYMENT

A deposit of $395 is required at the time of booking your Initial Consultation.  We accept credit card payment via phone and we do not accept cheques via mail.  A second payment of $495 will be due after your Initial Consult for your 24-hour comprehensive urine testing kit.  The remaining balance will be due at your hormone test interpretation appointment.  Payment plans are available (administrative fees apply).

v  FRAGRANCES

Due to the sensitivity of some of our patients, we ask that you wear no fragrances such as perfume, cologne, after-shave or strongly scented lotions on the day of your appointment.

We thank you for your understanding and your cooperation.