January 2022
Dear Patients of Davisville Family Practice,
We hope that you and your families were able to safely enjoy the holidays, are all doing well and are staying healthy during these challenging times. With the new year ahead we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of important clinic information and encourage you to access our website at www.davisvillefamilypractice.com for up to date information about the practice and COVID-19 as the pandemic continues.
As always, our ongoing commitment is to provide our patients with the highest level of care.
The Physicians of Davisville Family Practice:
Dr. Talitha Arndt
Dr. Janice Bacher
Dr. Renu Gupta
Dr. Johanna Mugford
Dr. Naomi Nohara
Dr. Alexandra Ross
Dr. Orit Segal
Dr. Astra Teo
During our regular business hours on Monday through Friday, if you have an urgent health concern, please call our office first thing in the morning after 8:30 am and we will do our best to give you a same day appointment.
We continue to manage patient care both in the office and virtually through phone and video visits. When an in-office visit is needed, we limit patients in the office to allow proper physical distancing and thorough cleaning of rooms. Please do not come into the office unless you have a scheduled in-person appointment with your doctor or the nurse. We ask that only the scheduled patient come into the office, with the exception of children and patients who require a caregiver for assistance. All patients and their accompanying caregiver must be screened prior to coming in to the office. As always, anyone who comes into the office must be free of symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and must not be undergoing a period of self-isolation after travel or contact with an individual with known COVID-19.
We are also a part of a larger group of 24 local physicians at 4 convenient locations, offering our enrolled patients access to the After Hours Clinic. After hours care is provided during the following times:
Mondays through Thursdays 5pm - 8pm
Saturday mornings 9am -12pm
These times are reserved for urgent cases. You should always try to contact your family doctor to book an appointment before using the after hours services, if possible. If you are unable to get a same day appointment and need medical attention, you may use the after hours services by calling:
AFTER HOURS HOT LINE 416-231- 7226
If you require urgent consultation outside the above hours you can call:
TELEPHONE HEALTH ADVISORY SERVICE(THAS) at 1-866-553-7205
Available weekday evenings 5pm-9am and all day and night on weekends and holidays.
An Important Note: When you seek care in our after hours clinic, the on-call physician is able to communicate information with your family physician about your clinical encounter thus providing better continuity of care. For this reason, we ask that you call our office FIRST or access the after hours clinic, instead of seeking medical support outside of our group such as via a walk-in clinic or virtual clinic.
HOW TO ENROLL WITH OUR YONGELINE FAMILY HEALTH
ORGANIZATION (FHO)
Please speak to your physician about completing our FHO form to register
An Important Note:
You cannot be signed up with more than one FHO at a time so please do not sign any similar form if you choose to attend a walk-in clinic or see another doctor. Doing so would remove you from our FHO and your doctor at Davisville Family Practice would no longer be registered as your family doctor.
COMMUNICATION VIA EMAIL
We are pleased to provide patients with e-mail communication services to facilitate transmission of specialist appointment information and administrative office information, however, we need your signed consent to do so. Please read our email policy that can be found on our website and complete our electronic communication consent for to take advantage of this service if you have not already done so. Email is not to be used for appointment booking purposes, or to discuss medical issues. As always, the most appropriate method to diagnose and manage your health concerns is through an appointment with your physician.
Please be aware that email is not considered secure. Davisville Family Practice cannot be held responsible if there is any security breech, or lost information during correspondence with this office via email.
PERIODIC HEALTH EXAMINATION
With ongoing research in preventative medicine, the concept of the “annual physical” has evolved into an evidence based Periodic Health Examination. Based on your age, gender and underlying medical problems, these routine check-ups may only be required every few years instead of annually. Spending time on a complete physical examination has not been proven to lead to better health outcomes. Rather, we now focus our time on ensuring that age and gender appropriate screening tests are up to date (see below) and counselling our patients on evidence proven interventions such as exercise, healthy diet, smoking cessation and a limited physical examination, including height weight, blood pressure and other examinations as deemed appropriate to your medical history.
PREVENTATIVE CARE PROGRAMS
The Ministry of Health has initiated a number of preventative care programs and we advise you to take advantage of those that are recommended to you by your doctor.
Immunizations: We are strong advocates of routine immunization as an important tool to prevent disease in children and adults. For example, all adults over the age of 50 are now offered one of two available shingles vaccines: either Zostavax or Shingrix, now covered under OHIP for patients ages 65-70. We carry both vaccines at the practice for administration by our nurse. We encourage you to discuss these and other vaccines you may be due for with your doctor.
Ontario continues to roll out COVID-19 vaccination. We continue to encourage all who are eligible to be vaccinated. As of November 23rd children aged 5-11 are eligible for vaccination and as of November 3rd booster doses have been available for eligible groups.
For more detailed and helpful information on the COVID-19 and Shingles vaccines please access our website.
A note about travel vaccinations - Travel medicine is NOT an OHIP covered service. Should you require travel advice or vaccinations, you may be charged by your family physician for this visit, the vaccination and the vaccine administration or be directed to local Travel Clinics where you can access these services for a cost.
Colorectal Cancer screening: offered to all men and women ages 50-74. Talk to your doctor about what screening test is right for you- either colonoscopy or the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT).
Pap smear: this test screens for cancer of the cervix. It is offered to women between the ages of 21 and 69 who have been sexually active and should be done every 3 years. In the case of abnormal results, more frequent testing and/or referral to a specialist may be necessary.
Mammogram: this test screens for breast cancer in women ages 50-74 and should be done every 1-2 years. Speak to your doctor about enrolling you in the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Special circumstances (such as strong family history) may prompt your physician to screen you outside this age range.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE OUR CLINIC OPERATION MORE EFFICIENT?
Please have your up-to-date OHIP card available at every appointment (virtual or in person). If you do not have a valid OHIP card, you will be charged for the visit.
Make sure ALL information we have on file for you & your family is correct and up to date: your health card number with version code, home address and email address ( if applicable) – so we can reach you quickly if necessary.
Please arrive on time for in-office visits and keep the scheduled appointments that are reserved for you.
Important Note re Appointment Cancellations : We must be notified 24 hours in advance or you may be charged for the appointment.
OFFICE LOCATION
1881 Yonge Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario
main intersection Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue
OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Thursday 8:30 am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 2pm
OFFICE WEBSITE
Office Phone number: 416-932-3172
Office Fax number: 416-440-0238
Thank you for trusting us for your care and for your patience with our evolving practices as we continue to provide much needed care during these challenging times.
Sincerely, The Davisville Family Practice Team