We take your healthcare seriously and we expect your active participation and adherence to our policies.
Section 1: Appointments
Etiquette
- For each appointment, due to time limits and the need to be considerate to waiting patients, we will deal with a maximum of 2 problems. If you have more than 2 problems, please book another appointment.
- Always call ahead for an appointment. We see patients by appointment only. Please be on time for your appointment.
- An urgent appointment is generally booked on the same day or the next working day. A non-urgent one is generally booked for within 1-2 weeks. When booking an appointment, please provide the reason for the visit so appropriate time may be scheduled. If the appointment involves filling out a form, please inform the secretary at the time of booking.
- It is the patient’s responsibility to find out the result of any tests and to return for the recommended preventive and screening interventions on a regular basis. Patients are responsible for keeping follow up appointments. Always make an appointment after tests to review the results.
Appointment Preparation
- Please bring in/show all your medication bottles with you so that the doctor can make sure that you are taking the medication correctly. It is your responsibility to notify your doctor of any change in your medical condition or medications or failure to improve. If you have any questions about taking medication, it is important that you ask your doctor.
- Bring your OHIP card to each visit. Most basic medical care is covered by OHIP. However, you will be charged directly for non-insured services such as cosmetic or non-essential procedures, notes, reports, medical examinations or reports performed at the request of someone other than you, e.g. employer, insurance company, school, camp, lawyer, ministry of transportation, etc. People without OHIP coverage will be billed directly at the Ontario Medical Association rates.
Emergency Appointments
- If you have an emergency that is life-threatening, go to the nearest hospital emergency dept immediately or call 911. If you have a non-life-threatening emergency, please call between 9:00-9:30 am to book a same day appointment. For non-urgent appointments, we will try to give you an appointment within 1-2 weeks of your phone call.
Cancellation and Missed Appointments
- If you cannot come for your appointment, please call to cancel at least 1 business day for regular visit and 2 business days for counselling therapy sessions before your scheduled appointment so that your slot can be given to other patients in need.
- For missed appointments (no-shows), last minute cancellations (less than 2 business days of scheduled appointment), late arrival (of more than 10 minutes), you will be charged a cancellation penalty fee for the visit since the doctor or therapist has already set aside this time for you. This cancellation fee is applied to all appointment types with a physician or therapist as the time has been allocated for your care and any cancellation leads to unfilled appointments that the physician has committed to and that other individuals in need may not get access to. In respect to everyone’s time and commitment, we expect strict adherence to our cancellation policies.
Cancellation Penalty Fee
- Physician regular appointments (phone, video or on-site): $42
- Physician physical check-ups: $95
- Meet-and-greets with Dr. Kamaleswaran: $70
- Physician counselling appointments: Individual under 76 mins ($162), Couples 90 mins ($176) and Families 120 mins ($352)
- Registered Psychotherapist/Social Worker counselling appointment charges are based on the established rate per therapist that is identified at the start of your session.
Expected Conduct During Appointments
- Irresponsible behavior such as dishonesty, all abuse including verbal, violence, harassment, non-payment and/or no-shows or lateness of more than two times a month may lead to termination of your rostered spot and/or counselling spot with the physician/therapist.
Section 2: On-site and Virtual Care Doctor’s Visits
- Since no one likes to be disturbed during the scheduled time with their physician, we do not take phone calls from patients. Please don’t feel offended if our receptionist asks questions about the nature of your phone call. They need to ascertain the urgency of the situation so that the doctor can respond appropriately. We will try to return your call as soon as possible.
- We do not provide renewals over the phone but prescribe in sufficient quantities each visit.
- It is the responsibility of patients who don’t speak English fluently to book their appointments with a physician who speaks their language or to bring their own interpreter. If you do not have an interpreter and have an in-person visit, our staff will be able to assist.
- During certain private examinations, you may request a third party to be present. If a male physician is doing an exam of a private female part, a trained female chaperone provided by the clinic will be present.
- We work together as a team to provide better care for you. You may be assessed and treated by licensed nurse practitioners, medical trainees or psychotherapists under physician supervision.
Section 3: Payments
- We expect our invoices to you to be paid within 30 days of the date of invoice. Interest at 3% per month compounded monthly (annual effective interest rate of 42.6%) is charged on outstanding balances.
- We only accept cash or electronic transfer for physician related invoices. If paying by electronic transfer, please send to patientcare@gracehealthcentre.ca and connect with clinic staff to provide password over the phone.
- For registered psychotherapist/social worker (non-OHIP) counselling sessions, we ask for credit card payment over our secure, designated platform for prepayment of the session on the day of your appointment before it begins. Cash or debit are alternative payment methods for on-site counselling visits.
- You must have up-to-date health coverage in order for physician-only regular appointments and counselling services to be covered by OHIP. Failure to present a valid OHIP card will result in you paying for your appointment.
Section 4: Counselling Specific Policies
Intake
You must fully complete intake forms before counselling begins, as this gives your therapist/family physician more information and advance time to address your concerns during the initial sessions. To request for counselling, click here.
Scales, Questionnaires and Assessments
- You may be invited to fill out different scales, questionnaires and assessments in the beginning, during and after your counselling sessions as a way to monitor your progress. You are highly encouraged to complete them at the recommended time frames.
- From time to time, your information may be incorporated at an aggregate, non-identifying level for the purposes of training and research of therapy effectiveness.
Booking sessions
- You are responsible for calling the office at (416) 633-7337 to book your own counselling sessions.
- We encourage you to book all sessions in advance to avoid future scheduling difficulties once you and your therapist/family physician have discussed the session details and frequencies.
- If you are doing team counselling, please book each session on the same day of the week to ensure that you work with the same team.
- Complimentary 15 Minute Session
- Some therapists may offer a complimentary 15 minute session. During this 15 minute, both you and the therapist will decide if the therapist is the best person to provide the services you need in order to meet your treatment goals. In addition, during this session, there is no therapeutic and/or professional relationship and no duty of care between you and the therapist. This means, you will still be fully responsible for your mental healthcare needs. The therapeutic relationship and duty of care starts only after explicit agreement by both you and the therapist.
Cancellations
Our general cancellation policy and penalty fee applies to you when there is a no-show, late arrival or late cancellation. You are expected to show up on time to your session and will be charged according to our cancellation penalty fee stated above.
OHIP Healthcare Counselling Coverage
- Counselling sessions with family physicians are covered by OHIP but will have longer wait times. Counselling sessions with a registered psychotherapist require you to pay yourself or with private coverage but will likely have shorter wait times.
- If your health coverage is out-of-date, you will have to pay a fee for Individual under 76 mins therapy ($162), Couples 90 mins therapy ($176) and Families 120 mins therapy ($352).
- It is your responsibility to check that your health coverage is still valid.
Insurance Coverage and Out-of-Pocket Counselling
With therapist counselling sessions, you will receive an invoice summary after each session that can be used to file your insurance claim through your own insurance provider. We do not process claims directly to your insurance company.
If you need support in navigating your insurance/health benefit, please contact our staff for support.
Counselling Limits of Services and Assumption of Risks
It is good to be aware of the benefits and potential risks that come from counselling:
- Counselling Benefits – Counselling sessions often significantly reduce the amount of distress someone is feeling, improve relationships, and/or resolve other specific issues.
- Counselling Risks – You may experience some uncomfortable feelings as you discuss various situations and/or aspects of your life. You may also find that your relationships will be affected as you learn to build healthier boundaries and explore previously unexplored emotions, possibly causing distress and conflict in the interim. Improvements and any “cures” cannot be guaranteed for any condition due to the many variables that can affect the counselling process.
- For more information, please visit our FAQ section
Section 5: Privacy and Confidentiality
- All discussions, scheduling or appointment notes, appointment records, and progress notes taken during your appointment with your therapist, physician, and staff team (Medical Circle of Care) are strictly confidential. Personal patient information will be stored within Grace Health Centre’s designated Electronic Medical Record system that is only accessible to Grace Health Centre’s Circle of Care team. We recognize our responsibilities with regard to dealing carefully and properly with the information we collect and retain for our purposes.
- All information is held in confidence, subject to any legal requirements placed on the therapist or physician by law and professional training, supervision, or consultation. Counselling sessions may be monitored via audio or video for training, supervision, research, or consultation purposes only. This ensures that you receive the best possible care and the benefit of the experience of supervisors or experts.
- You may choose to give your Healthcare Practitioner with written permission to release any or specific information about you to any person or agency that you designate, including insurance companies and other third-party payers. No information will be disclosed to anyone without your consent except in situations prescribed by law.
- Couples or families who share information in individual counselling sessions that may impact the relationship and erode safety and trust in therapy are encouraged to eventually share the information with their partner. It is impossible to rebuild relationships when explosives are laying around, and these need to be addressed when appropriate. As a result, we generally advocate a “no-secrets policy”. Your therapist will provide support throughout this process.
Everything you discuss with your doctor is kept in strictest confidence. Our privacy policy is posted below and at the clinic for your information.
Limits of Confidentiality – The following is a list of exceptions:
- Duty to Warn and Protect – If you disclose a plan or threat to harm yourself, the Healthcare Practitioner must attempt to notify your family and notify legal authorities, as required by the law. In addition, if you disclose a plan to threaten or harm another person, the Healthcare Practitioner is required by law to warn the possible victim and notify legal authorities.
- Abuse of Children and Vulnerable Adults – If you disclose, or it is suspected, that there is abuse or harmful neglect of children or other vulnerable populations (i.e. the elderly, disabled/incompetent), the Healthcare Practitioner must report this information to the appropriate agency and/or legal authorities, as required by law.
- Prenatal Exposure to Controlled Substances – The Healthcare Practitioner must report any admitted prenatal exposure to controlled or other substances that could be harmful to the mother or the child.
- Minors/Guardianship – Parents or legal guardians of non-emancipated minor patients have the right to access the patients’ records.
The type of information requested may include (but are not limited to) the following: types of service, dates/times of service, diagnosis, treatment plans, descriptions of impairment, progress of therapy, case notes, summaries, referrals, and investigation results.
Accountability – We are responsible for ensuring compliance with this privacy policy and shall also assume responsibility as Privacy Officer.
Purposes – We collect personal information only for the purposes of the medical administrative functions of our medical clinic.
Consent – No one is under any compulsion to give us any personal information unless they wish to. We will seek explicit consent when information is collected to your expressed purposes.
Limited Collection – We will limit the collection of information to the personal information necessary to satisfy your expressed purposes.
General Limited Use and Disclosure – We use information only for the purposes we have declared based on your expressed purposes. Permission will be sought before using the information in any other way.
Accuracy – We will endeavour at all times, with clients’ co-operation, to keep all personal information accurate and up to date.
Safeguard – We will protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure and misuse by using means such as locked cabinets, passwords, etc.
Openness – Our privacy policy is available to anyone who wishes to see it.
Individual Access – If individuals request access to their personal information, we will aim to provide the information in a timely and reasonable manner.
Challenge Compliance – Individuals can address a challenge concerning compliance to this policy to Grace Health Centre staff.
Section 6: Joining our Roster
We are part of the North Downsview Family Health Organization. If you are interested in joining our roster, please fill in the waiting list form
- We accommodate patients who suddenly become ill. On occasion, this may delay our pre-scheduled patients. Please bear with us when this happens. When you have an emergency, you will appreciate this policy.
- We encourage you to consistently see one doctor so that they will have a chance to know you and your medical condition well and maintain continuity of care. However, on urgent occasions it may be necessary to see one of your doctor’s partners. All of us practice in a very similar manner. Therefore, your care would not in any way be compromised in an emergency situation.
Section 7: Medical Records, Special Notes and Requests
- Please notify us immediately of any change in your address, phone number, OHIP information, name, or marital status so that our office will have the updated information.
- We will not act as guarantors for passports or birth certificate applications. Please ask your lawyer, banker, accountant, pharmacist or other qualified persons.
- You may be charged for additional services as necessary. This may include…
- Additional testing/questionnaires recommended by your therapist/physician that are not covered by OHIP
- Documents that you request from your therapist/physician
- Any third party services
- Driver’s license medical examinations, many medical services such as travel advice, wart treatment and skin lesion removal, forms, notes, reports, transfer of records to other doctors and telephone calls to doctors are not covered by OHIP. Please prepare payment for these and other uninsured services at the time of your visit. Uninsured services fee will be determined by your physician. Refer to section 3 payments for payment details and processes.