How to Get the most out of your office visit

Optimizing your health is team work and you are the most important member of the team. Your thoughts, opinions, internet findings and concerns are important. Please feel free to express them. You may request print outs of your results for your own personal health records.

If you have a small medical problem that will not take long and you do not like waiting, book a same day appointment or schedule one of the earlier appointments.   If you prefer to come later in the day, walk-ins will be seen at the end of each clinic.

Standard appointments are only 15 minutes so bring any relevant information with you. 

Always give Dr Smith’s business card at Urgent Care, emergency or X-ray departments, specialists’ offices, etc. and request a copy be sent for your records.

Complete physicals (now called Periodic Health Exams) and Counseling appointments will be booked for 30 minutes if you advise the switchboard that that is what you want.   Manitoba Health will only cover a periodic health exam on a well patient once every 12 months.

Sometimes in medical care it takes longer than the standard appointment to deal with an important problem.  If you are kept waiting please be patient and recognize one day you may need the extra time.

If you have more than one thing you want attended to it may not be possible to get everything done in one visit. You may be asked to book another appointment to complete your needs. Choose which concern is most important and mention it first. There are also sometimes things arising from your previous visit that need following up.  Please do not leave symptoms you think might be serious (eg chest pain, symptoms of stroke, vomiting blood or black stools) to the end!! 

The Winnipeg Gay Mens’ Health Clinic is part of Four Rivers Medical Clinic Broadway. Like all the physicians at Four Rivers we have to conform to clinic policy: 

• Missed appointments or Same Day Cancellations. You will be billed for these and can only be seen as a walk-in until the payment is made.  Genuine reasons may be mentioned to the switchboard at the time of cancellation and if that has been done they will be reviewed at your next appointment.                                     
• Services not covered by Manitoba Health are billed at the standard Manitoban rate. A list of the fees charged for various services is posted in the waiting room.  Dr Smith uses this money to purchase additional equipment for the clinic.