Appointments

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Meet and Greet 

All patients are required to attend a meet and greet appointment. This is an introductory appointment dedicated to meeting each other, and it is an opportunity for you to review office policies and ask any questions you may have. Your past medical history will also be reviewed and updated in our electronic medical record. We request that you make arrangements to do this within the first year. 
 

Routine Appointments

Please contact the office to book an appointment. The medical office assistant will ask you to briefly state the reason for the appointment to better schedule your visit and allot for enough time to address concerns. If your name, address, phone number, or Medicare card number or expiry date has changed, please let us know so that we can have the most up-to-date contact information for you. 

 

Acute Illness and Same Day Appointments

We reserve a limited number of ‘same-day appointment’ time slots each day to accommodate sick patients who would benefit from medical attention the same day, and to prevent our patients from having to visit a walk-in clinic. If you require a same-day appointment and the clinic is fully booked, or if we are away from the office, you may choose to be seen by one of the other physicians in our office (based on availability). If appropriate, you can always choose to wait to see your physician when they are next available. If you are sick and wish to be seen the same day, calling the office early in the day will help us schedule you for a same-day visit. These same day appointments are not intended to address chronic disease management issues which are better managed by consistency with your assigned family physician. If you are experiencing a medical emergency or you believe you are experiencing a life- or limb-threatening situation, call 911 immediately, or go to the nearest emergency department. 

 

After Hours Policy

A limited number of appointments will be offered outside the regular hours each week for patients who have urgent medical concerns. The after hours clinic is by appointment only and unfortunately, will not be able to accommodate walk-in visits.  Should you choose to use this service, you may not be seen by your family physician, but the visit will be documented in your patient chart and this record will be accessible by your family physician. Please call the office to schedule your after-hours appointment. 
 
The after hours clinic is not intended for chronic disease management or prescription refill requests but are available to address acute medical illnesses.  If patients who are wishing to book appointments in the after hours clinic to avoid disruption to regular working hours, whether an appointment is offered during these after hours is up to the discretion of the physician covering the after hours clinic on the corresponding evening. Prescriptions may be filled for a 30 day supply in the after hours clinic at the discretion of the attending physician but you will be encouraged to follow up with your regular family physician to get a longer prescription.  Please note that prescriptions for controlled substances will not be provided during after-hours appointments under any circumstances.  
 
Because our physician group will be having our own after-hours service, we are asking that you call us first instead of going to a walk-in clinic. This is to ensure that the care you receive will be part of your medical record and your regular family physician will be up to date with any ongoing concerns.    If you are experiencing a medical emergency or you believe you are experiencing a life- or limb-threatening situation, call 911 immediately, or go to the nearest emergency department. 

 

Caregivers, Friends and Family

You are welcome to bring a caregiver, friend or family member to your appointment.  Please be aware that another person’s medical concerns will not be addressed during your dedicated appointment.

Multiple Medical Complaints

Rookwood Family Health does not adhere to the “One Problem per Visit”. We understand that you may sometimes have more than one medical concern you wish to discuss and we will do our best to address as many as we reasonably can within our time constraints. Patients are allotted an appointment based on the information provided to the medical office administrators upon booking the appointment. Please make a list and prioritize your concerns ahead of the appointment.  In order to properly address your secondary concerns and to avoid getting behind schedule, a follow-up appointment will be recommended if your secondary concerns cannot be fully addressed in the allotted time.

 

Counseling, Stress Management and Mental Health Concerns

Patients should inform us when booking an appointment for counseling, stress management, or mental health concerns.  Please be as descriptive as you feel comfortable.  This is to ensure that the appropriate amount of time is booked to meet your needs

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Late Arrivals

We understand that unforeseen circumstances may cause you to be late for an appointment. Please call our office if you know that you are going to be late. Late patients may be accommodated as the day’s schedule permits.  If you have missed more than half of the allotted time for your appointment, you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.  

 

Cancellations and Missed Appointments

When we schedule your appointment, we are reserving a room for your particular needs, we prepare your records and special instruments may also be prepared for your visit.  Please call us as soon as you know you won’t be able to make your appointment.  We ask that you please call by noon on the business day prior to your appointment to cancel or reschedule. This courtesy on your part makes it possible to give the appointment to another patient who needs it.  For your convenience, an appointment card can be provided to help you remember your appointment.  
 
Failure to present for a scheduled appointment will be recorded in the patient chart as a “no-show”.  After a third no-show appointment, a letter will be mailed to your address informing you of the missed appointment and a $45.00 no-show fee will be billed to the patient’s address with payment requested upon receipt. For each subsequent missed appointment a no-show fee of $45.00 will be billed. Frequent missed appointments (3 consecutive or 5 in a 12-month period), may result in dismissal from the practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross Coverage Policy

As part of our practice, we have responsibilities that will occasionally require us to be out of office.  If your regular family physician is out of the office, one of the other physicians at Rookwood Family Health may be able to see you pending appointment availability. Despite these out of office responsibilities, our goal is to still have one of our physicians provide care to our patients instead of needing to seek care at an after-hours clinic or the Emergency Department.  If your physician is out of office, please call the office to inquire about appointment availability with one of the other physicians. If appropriate, you may wait to be seen by your regular family physician when they return to office.

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Medical Investigations

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Medical Investigations and Test Results

We understand that you may want to know the results of lab tests and other diagnostic testing as soon as possible. Be assured that when test results are returned to the office, your doctor reviews them. The medical office assistant will not share test results over the phone, even if they are normal. We will call you to notify you of test results that require follow up with a physician. However, in order to prevent missed results that require follow-up care, we recommend that you book an appointment to follow up on your results. When your doctor orders tests such as blood work and medical imaging, please call the office as soon as you get the date for your tests to book a follow-up appointment to discuss the test results and follow-up plan. 

 

Rescheduling Missed Test Appointments and Specialist Appointments

To reschedule appointments, please call:

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Everett Chalmers central scheduling: 452-5094

Oromocto Public Hospital central scheduling: 357-4700

Specialist appointments: please call the specialist’s office 

If a test or referral needs to be reordered, you will be required to come in for an appointment with your physician. 

 

Prescriptions 
 

Prescription Renewals

In most circumstances, patients are encouraged to come into office for prescription refills. These appointments help physicians review the indications for the prescribed medications and review the conditions for which these medications are prescribed for.  It is the responsibility of the patient to schedule appointments prior to their prescriptions run out.  
 
If our office receives a prescription refill request from your pharmacy, it may be filled at the discretion of your family physician. The fee associated with prescription refill requests may be waived for the first prescription refill request. Subsequent prescription refill requests will be charged at fee of $10. 
 
The duration of your prescription refills are at the discretion of your family physician.

 

Monitored Drugs

This refers to prescription drugs that are controlled substances under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (such as narcotic analgesics, stimulants, benzodiazepines and barbiturates), as well as other opioid medications not listed in the Act (such as tramadol-containing products). Such drugs are not routinely prescribed. Prescribing is only considered for very specific indications after a thorough assessment of the patient, a thorough review of the medical history and a trial of other treatment options, and at the physician’s discretion. Prescriptions for monitored drugs can be tapered and/or stopped at any time for suspicion of misuse, abuse, diversion, or suspected use of unsanctioned substances. Prescriptions will not be given for monitored substances during after-hours appointments under any circumstances. Patients who are undergoing treatment with narcotic analgesic medications will be asked to sign a detailed opioid contract outlining policies for prescribing and deprescribing opioids. 

 

Medical Cannabis

The physicians at Rookwood Family Health do not prescribe medical marijuana. If you are currently prescribed medical cannabis or are interested in learning more about the use of medical cannabis in certain medical conditions, a referral to a physician who prescribes medical marijuana could be facilitated.

 

Personal Health Information 
 

Obtaining Copies of Your Health Record

A medical records release consent form must be completed and signed by the patient or Power of Attorney before any information can be released.An administrative and printing fee of 25 cents per page will be charged.Copies will be ready for pick up within 30 days from the date of your request. Please notify us of time constraints or special circumstances at the time of your request so that we may make efforts to honour it in a timely fashion. 

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Sending Medical Record to Third Party

You may at times require that your medical record or parts of it be released to a third party, e.g., for an insurance application, legal representation, transfer to another physician, etc. A medical records release consent form must be completed and signed by the patient or Power of Attorney before any information can be released. Records will be sent within 6 weeks from the date of your request. Please inform us of time constraints or special circumstances at the time of your request so that we may make efforts to honour it in a timely fashion. An administrative and printing fee will be charged. Postage or courier fees, when applicable, will be charged at actual cost. 

 

Uninsured Services 
 

Uninsured Services

Certain medical services that you may require are not covered by Medicare, i.e. Driver’s Physical, Travel Consultation/Vaccinations, Form Completion etc.  The fees are the responsibility of the patient and are based on recommendations made from the New Brunswick Medical Society and you will be notified of a charge before the service is provided to you. 
 
There will be a list of services not covered by Medicare posted in the office. 
 
We recognize that some patients will need these services and be unable to pay.  Please do not hesitate to inform us if these charges pose a financial hardship to you.

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Payment Options

Cash or Cheque is preferred. Some physicians do offer debit and credit card options. Please inquire with the Medical Office Assistant to find out. A debit machine is available at a charge of $1.00 per transaction. There is an ATM located on the first floor. If cheques are your preferred method of payment, please ask medical office administrators who to direct the cheque to.  

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Services Offered Within Rookwood Family Health

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These are some of the services that are offered amongst the group of physicians practicing in the Rookwood Family Health group:

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• Cryotherapy

• Small procedures (punch biopsies, mole removal, skin biopsies)

• IUD insertions and removals

• Endometrial biopsies

• Joint and soft tissue injections

• In hospital care

• Dr. Allan and Dr. MacDonald will be starting a family medicine obstetrics group in the coming months-years

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Physician Gender-Neutral Policy 

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Patients may not request a new physician within the FMNB group based on gender, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other personal qualifier not defined by the physician’s skill 
 
If patients request to be referred to another primary care practitioner for certain sensitive exams or discussions this will be accommodated to the best of our abilities without full transference of care. 

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Policy Discouraging Transfer of Patients Within Physician Group

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Each physician within our group have been assigned their patients.  If you have an issue with the physician you have been assigned, those issues should be addressed directly with your physician.  Our offices will be unable to transfer patients between the physicians in our group. In certain circumstances where the division of patients led to family members being put with different physicians, a transfer of patients must be mutually agreed upon between the transferring and the accepting physician. 

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In Hospital Care

 

We work as a team, sharing in-patient hospital care responsibilities.  This means that if you are admitted to hospital, you may or may not see your Family Physician during daily rounds and treatments.  You will be managed by the Family Physician that is currently on call within our team. 

When you leave hospital, your family physician will be informed of the treatment you received and any medication updates.   You and your family should focus questions related to in hospital care to the on-call physician when/if they arise.  Our patients must be comfortable receiving their comprehensive care by our trusted associates.

 

 Recording 

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It is strictly forbidden to produce any audio and/or video recordings for any reason during a medical appointment, in the waiting room, or any part of the Rookwood Family Health offices. Such actions are considered a breach of privacy and may result in immediate termination from the practice.

 

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Acceptable Office Behaviour 

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The agreed upon decorum with which we expect both our staff and our patients to conduct themselves within the office.

 
Absolutely no physical violence will be tolerated, any infractions will lead to an immediate firing, either of patients or staff.

 
Absolutely no sexual harassment will be tolerated, any infractions will lead to an immediate firing, either of patients or staff.

 
Verbal harassment including threats, unacceptable use of tone or volume when communicating is unacceptable. The first infraction will lead to a verbal warning. The second infraction will lead to both a verbal and a written warning. The third infraction will lead to a firing from the practice. Any threat that leads to the threatened individual to fear for their life will lead to an immediate firing from the practice. 

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