December 14, 2022

Dear patients,

We are writing to share updates about our operations over the holidays as well as the details of online appointment booking starting in January, and fees for non-OHIP covered services.

We know that this has been a difficult time, especially this on-going cold and flu season – we hope that you are doing well. Throughout this time, we have been managing your health questions and concerns through phone appointments in some rare cases and our office has continued to be open during regular office hours to in-person visits.

Interacting With Us

In-person appointments with your primary care provider typically have better outcomes. For this reason, we have created a spacious, clean and welcoming clinic to provide quality health care. On the other hand, we do want to minimize unnecessary visits to our office so we are utilizing Ocean, a secure platform by CognisantMD that allows us to send you your necessary messages and letters safely. We also use Ocean to send courtesy appointment reminders 48 hours ahead of your next appointment.

Clinic Hours During the Holidays

Physicians will be seeing patients on December 28 and 29 as well as on January 3, 4 and 5. Only appointments for urgent care needs will be offered.

Appointments can only be made same-day and there’s a high likelihood that you will not see your usual physician. However, with full access to your medical history, our doctors are in the best position to offer you quality care and arrange any required follow-ups.

To book an appointment, please call (613) 201-9300. Please be patient with our staff as they are working very hard to take your calls.

Nurse Practitioner Kim Macpherson will be seeing her patients December 28-30 and January 3-6 for routine and urgent appointments.

Take note of our phone schedule:

*phones may turn off earlier if appointments are all taken.

NEW! Appointment Booking Online for All Providers

In an effort to reduce overall call volumes, beginning in 2023 we are setting up all providers with online appointment booking via Ocean. We strongly encourage anyone with access to the internet to use this easy-to-use and helpful tool. It will help minimize unpredictable and sometimes very long call wait times, which can be frustrating for you.

As of January 3, click the “Book Online” button at the top of our website, tayriverhealthcentre.ca to view appointment availability and to book your next appointment.

Fees for Non-OHIP Insured Services

The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) pays for most of your medical visits and services. However, there are many uninsured services, which OHIP does not cover. As you may know, the cost of operating offices has drastically increased over the last couple of years, to the extent where many GPs have to close their offices. As a result of these increasing costs we are forced to increase our fees for several uninsured services. Kindly note that we only accept cash or cheque for these services.

Thank you for your continued confidence and support. We wish you all a wonderful, safe and healthy holiday season!

Sincerely,

The team at Tay River Health Centre’s medical clinic