Any important news regarding the practice will go in here. If you wonder if you've missed anything (since this page will inevitably become a mass of links), look at the date below this line. If you've accessed this page since that date, then there is nothing new.

Date last changed: 27-May-2002

27-May-2002
Note To Patients
The office will be closed today in solidarity with BC physicians protesting the duplicity of the Victoria Lieberal government. Other office closures will likely be occurring during the next few weeks. If you find this situation inconvenient, write to your MLA and the premier; lyin' Gordon has publically stated that physicians remuneration has been increased by 20% -- the actual amount, 0%. It has been some time that the Lieberals raised the provincial sales tax purportedly to pay for increased remuneration for physicians -- ask them what they're doing with this money because we haven't seen any of it.

If you require medical attention today, and the problem requires immediate attention, go to St. Pauls Hospital emergency department.

From this day forward, we will no longer be renewing prescriptions over the telephone, and more detailed information will be available shortly (now only on my web site at http://drgimbarzevsky.com/PracticeAnnouncements.html) Also, depending on the degree of stupidity that the BC Lieberals demonstrate in dealing with this situation during the next few days, I may be opting out of medicare. This is the only option I have open under the Canada Health Act, and this would require that patients pay at the time of an office visit and obtain reimbursement from BC MSP. Hopefully the situation won't come to this, but I think it appropriate to give patients advance warning of what I personally intend to do if no agreement with the BC government is reached in the next few weeks.

Because sporadic office closures will likely be continuing on a weekly basis for the next few weeks, we would ask patients to limit themselves to a single problem during times that the office is open as we will be dealing with increased patient volumes during the days that the office is open.

6-May-2002
Medical service restrictions as a result of conflict with BC government.
At this point BC physicians and the BC government are again in conflict and restriction of services will occur as a result. Emergency medical services will be maintained, but certain medical services will no longer be available. Specifically:
(1) No telephone prescriptions will be allowed
(2) No new MSP patients will be accepted into practice.
(3) Office closures will occur - initially scheduled on 14/5/2002 and 22/5/2002
(4) As of 29/5/2002, if no progress is made with BC government, all GP's will be resigning their hospital privileges. This means that we will no longer have any involvement with St. Pauls hospital and all medical services will be provided on an outpatient basis.
(5) On-call services will be eliminated at the end of this week.

For more information of why these actions are being taken, click here for Dr. Gimbarzevsky's personal view of the situation.

26-Sept-2001
Influenza vaccine dates
We will be getting in supplies of influenza vaccine the first week in November. This is usually when vaccine arrives, but once we get in our supplies an updated notice will be posted. Vaccine is available for free for everyone over the age of 65 or those patients who have a chronic medical condition in which influenza can be expected to be much more dangerous than in a healthy person. If you don't qualify for free vaccine, it is possible to obtain influenza vaccinations for $15/dose.

Announcement of summer office schedule (put here on 17/6/2001 T:=22:48) is available here.

21-July-2000
We have managed to find a locum!
Dr. Veronica Corvalan-Groslling will be doing a locum for both our practices from 30-July-2001 to 24-Aug-2001.
Any practice closures that are mentioned in pages I might not have time to modify prior to going on my holidays are no longer in effect. There are, however, now new holiday dates for Dr. Gimbarzevsky:

Dr. Gimbarzevsky holidays:
23-July-2001 to 12-Aug-2001 and
27-Aug-2001 to 4-Sept-2001

Dr. Kline holidays:
30-July-2001 to 26-Aug-2001