The foundation to a good physician-patient relationship is mutual respect. As your physician, I will do my best to provide patients with timely access to care, to involve you in your healthcare decision-making, and to be on time for your appointments. I request that my patients provide my staff and I the same respect in return.

• Come to your appointment on time, whether it’s by phone or in-person
• Communicate with my office in a respectful manner. Abusive and rude behaviours or language will not be tolerated at all, and will lead to immediate dismissal from the practice
• Avoid wearing scents/scented products to in person appointments
• Turn your phones and devices to silent during our appointment

Please provide enough information during appointment booking to understand your main concern, as well as the best phone number to reach you for telephone appointments. I try to be on time as much as possible for our appointments to respect your time, and I ask the same from you. If you are running late, please call to inform my office. For administrative issues such as regarding forms and records, please speak to my assistant first.

Regular appointments are generally 10 minutes in duration and are meant to address your main concern. If time allows, I would be happy to answer additional questions or minor concerns. If there are multiple main concerns or if I feel that more time is needed to address your concerns thoroughly, I will request that you schedule a separate appointment or a follow up appointment.

Urgent/same-day appointments are reserved for patients with new injuries or acute (non-life threatening) illnesses, so that when you are sick or injured, I can see you quickly. Please call my office if you think you may need to be seen urgently. You may be directed to Urgent Care or ER if I cannot accommodate your request or if your illness sounds more serious than I can manage in the office.

IUD and Nexplanon insertions are scheduled by calling my office. My assistant will send you instructions for appointment preparation. Please come 10 minutes EARLY for set up.

Baby check up and immunization visits can be scheduled online or by phone. Please come 10 minutes EARLY for baby measurements.

NEW ICBC and WorkSafeBC cases should contact my office for appointment. You may be sent a questionnaire to complete before your appointment. Please have your claim number and date of injury ready.

24-hour notice is required for appointment cancellation so that the appointment spot can be provided to another patient.

In-person or telephone appointments that are missed or cancelled without sufficent notice will be subject to a $60 rebooking fee.

Repeated missed appointments (no shows) may lead to termination of the physician-patient relationship.

Emergencies and unforeseen circumstances happen. Please give my office as much notice as possible if these affect your ability to attend your appointment.

I currently have >2,100 patients enrolled in my practice, which I manage with the help of my assistant. I’m sure you can appreciate the volume of inquiries my office receives every day, which I have to address on top of seeing patients.

Email communication is only for administrative purposes such as sending and receiving forms and reports, NOT for appointment requests or to address medical concerns. An email consent form will be sent to you for review and to sign prior to email communication.

These are some ways you can help me and my assistant:

• For medical issues/concerns, schedule an appointment by using Online Booking whenever possible and appropriate, or by calling my office
• Allow 3 business days for my office to return non-urgent messages and inquiries
• Send in forms and reports 1 week advance for review before any appointment (a secure attachment link will be sent to you to upload the form/document)

Forms, certificates, and medical notes are unfortunately all too common and requested for even the most minor of reasons. Before requesting form completion or a medical note, please ensure that this request is truly needed to avoid unnecessary financial costs to you and administrative burden to me. If needed, please complete the patient information section on the form and send the form to my office in advance for review. Forms may be sent in by requesting a secure document upload link or by in-person drop off. Whenever possible, I prefer to receive the form in PDF format. There will be a fee for form and medical note completion based on the BCMA rate; the fee will be communicated to you after the request is reviewed.

If you have no repeats for a medication, please book an appointment before you run out for prescription renewal. If a prescription extension is urgently needed, your pharmacist may be able to help by providing short-term extension until your appointment.

I follow evidence-based guidelines for all prescriptions, including antibiotics, opioids, psychostimulants, and sedative medications.

As my patient, you consent to me to search for your past prescription medication history on PharmaNet (provincial prescription medication database) as the need arises.

For emergency requiring immediate assistance, call 9-1-1 or head to the nearest emergency department.

For urgent issues, seek care at the closest Urgent Primary Care Centre or walk-in clinic.

If unsure or needing advice, call 8-1-1 to talk to a health professional at HealthLinkBC. This is a free service open 24 hours a day, available in multiple languages.

If you need an urgent medication refill and are unable to get an appointment in time, your pharmacy may provide an emergency supply of medication.