New patients are welcome, but should be aware of the following before making appointments. My office does not double book appointments and I always book a 20 minute appointment for the first time I see a new patient. If you make an appointment and are unable to keep it, please give at least 24 hours notice. For appointments which are cancelled on the same day that they are made, a $50 cancellation fee will apply. Patients should let my receptionist know what the medical problem they are coming in for before coming to the office. Initial visits for MSP recognized medical problems are free of charge.

Patients are also reminded that the Medical Services Plan of BC covers only a very restricted range of medical services. The standard medical appointment under MSP is 10 minutes in duration and is to be concerned with a single medical problem. Furthermore, discussion of "alternative" therapies is not an MSP benefit. MSP provides for a total of four "counselling visits" per patient yearly which are extended time appointments (20+ minutes) to deal with medical problems which cannot be accomodated in the 10 minute time frame for a standard medical appointment provided under medicare. Those patients who require extended time, but cannot afford to pay for it privately, will be asked for written confirmation from their other physician as to how many counselling visits they have remaining during a given year and these may be utilized to deal with complicated medical problems which are recognized under MSP.

I am happy to discuss any health related matters with patients regardless of whether this falls under the purview of the medicare system or if it is outside of the conventional medical system. I will let you know whether the topic falls within my area of expertise at the initial visit. The rate for non-medicare related office visits is $100/half hour. In the case of individuals who feel that they have not recieved sufficient time from other physicians for medical problems which fall under the purview of MSP, there are 4 counselling visits yearly which are covered and additional 30 minute visits beyond that are available at the rate of $100 each.

In the case of individuals with extensive medical histories, complete records will be required from either your previous treating physician(s) and hospitals if applicable. It is patients responsibility to provide the records, although in such cases should you decide to later go elsewhere, all photocopies of medical records provided by patients will be returned free of charge. Depending on the complexity of your medical history, there may be a $150 charge levied for a detailed review of all medical records provided. In such cases, patients will be provided with a copy of my summary of the material reviewed.

I am happy to take patients with multiple medical problems who have had difficulty in finding physicians, but am unable to do so under MSP unless patients are willing to sign a statement beforehand stating that all office visits will be limited to 10 minutes and discussion of a single problem (except of course in the case of bona-fide medical emergencies where such time constraints do not apply).

New. Telephone Prescription Renewals
As of 27/5/2002, prescription renewals by telephone will be made without charge only in exceptional cases. Starting today, the charges for telephone prescription renewals are:
$10 - simple prescription renewals which are paid in cash
$15 - simple prescription renewals which are paid by visa
$25 - triplicate prescriptions paid in cash
$30 - triplicate prescriptions paid by visa

No charge will apply for prescription renewals which are obtained during an office visit.

Boris Gimbarzevsky, MD

\\PentH66\Offvolfuj02\OfficeChanges\ NewPatientNoteJuly2000a.doc Last changed 27-May-2002