**updated MAY 2020**
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please refer to the below FAQs, or download them all for future reference.
“I completed post graduate training in Family Medicine in 2008. I completed this training in Saskatchewan, at the Regina General Hospital. Since then I have worked in numerous walk -in and family medicine settings including at York Medical, in Keswick ONT, and in various out-of-province locums. From 2010-2013, I also worked part time for a House-CALL service company, based out of Toronto, Ontario. Currently, I have a full-time comprehensive family medicine practice in Mid City Toronto. I also do house calls for select patients pre-approved by the Ministry of Health for needing complex home care, and I also travel a few times a year, to work in under-serviced communities in Saskatchewan.” Please follow our updates by: Thandeka Williams has been the clinic’s Medical Office Assistance since 2017. She is friendly, approachable and accommodating. She will assist you with completing forms, will give you instructions/directions for various appointments, and will book and arrange your follow-ups with specialists and other health facilities, as needed. Thandeka also scans your incoming labs, imaging and other reports, onto the system, and also processes your medication reorder forms. We do our best to perform this daily, so that you can feel comfortable that – as soon as any incoming reports arrive into our system – that they are processed and revised. Revisions are usually within 1-2 business days, unless Dr. Basil is out of the office for locum work, in which case it reviews will happen within one week of reports arriving into our system. Should you have questions and follow-up inquiries about your incoming reports, you would inquire directly with Thandeka. In addition., Thandeka updates the clinic’s announcements on a monthly basis, and updates our answering machine daily. Finally, Thandeka is your guide on how best to access care whenever Dr. Basil is away from the office. Post COVID, our belief is you will not be inconvenienced whenever Dr. Basil is away, as he will be working for you remotely more days than not, whether he is away for locum work or for personal reasons. We do see patients on a walk-in basis throughout the day. However, we do not accept walk-in patients who are not a part of the family practice, or who are not a part of the group whom we work with. Enrolled patients of Dr. Basil’s clinic can pick a date and time of their choosing, and can be seen by appointment. Patients with an appointment will be given priority over walk-in patients, medical condition permitting. Group patients can be seen by Dr. Basil, whenever the Group MD is out of office. Please note that patients of our family practice – who have prior appointments – will be seen prior to patients from other group doctors, urgency of the medical condition permitting. Patients from the group, and from within Dr. Basil’s practice, are given equal priority if they are needing to be seen on a walk-in basis. Post COVID, our belief is you will not be inconvenienced whenever Dr. Basil is away, as he will be working for you remotely more days than not, whether he is away for locum work or for personal reasons. So as to ensure better continuity of care – and because our group of five physicians share your health records within our secure electronic record system – the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care asks that (where possible) you try and seek all your primary care services from Dr. Basil, and – failing that – from the group of five physicians noted in this FAQ. You should note that – generally – we are available 7 days a week, and are also available after hours on some weeknights. As well, when an issue arises after office hours, Dr. Basil is available (preferably by email and secondarily by phone) for urgent consults. Please note that this service does not substitute for your need to decide if your issue is more appropriately addressed by calling 911, or by going to the nearest Emergency Department. Unless you are traveling or in need of emergency services, you are highly encouraged to avoid using the services of ANY walk-in clinics and family physicians not affiliated with the Finch Weston Health Organization. Generally, your most responsible physician (Dr. Basil) will: Other doctors in the group can be useful for: Post COVID, please check our current hours of operations. Please note that these hours will change as new public health information becomes available. Basil is available on most Saturdays from 9am – 2pm. Post COVID, please check our current hours of operations. Please note that these hours will change as new public health information becomes available. In certain situations, keep in mind that some forms may not be applicable to your circumstance and cannot be filled out. It is highly recommended that when in doubt, that you please ask Dr. Basil about any forms you need completed well in advance of any due dates, as appropriate plans can then be made prior to completion of the form. For further information, please ask our Medical Office Assistant for any guidance. We regularly process thousands of these forms, and so have the expertise to guide you. They key with getting your forms completed on time and accurately, is to pre plan to review the form with Dr. Basil and the Medical Office Assistant way before you need the form completed. In some cases, we realize that there are circumstances that arise that are beyond your control. We will try our best to accommodate you whenever we can, but please advise us of your circumstance as early as possible, as not all requests can be met in your applicable timelines, as per your situation and your given form. Post COVID, we will process forms as the need arises. Please email [email protected] (preferred), and where this email will be sent to both Dr. Basil and to his Medical Office Assistant. Otherwise, please speak to the Medical Office Assistant, and they can get a hold of Dr. Basil for you, as needed and appropriate.
The physicians in this group collectively prefer that patients generally do not transfer care to other physicians within the group. If a patient wants to transfer care for language reasons, or because another physicians’ schedule is better suited to them, they must approach their current provider and have a discussion after which the providers will speak among each other to facilitate the transfer. In general, if a patient wants to leave their provider, they should be prepared to leave the group and seek care elsewhere.
If you enroll with Dr. Basil and then change your mind, all you must do is notify our Medical Office Assistant by text, phone, or email, and your name will be immediately removed from the group list. You can also ask for your record and they will be made available in a few days pending volumes, and for a nominal fee.
Yes. For your after-hour needs, the clinic is open 2pm-7pm on most Wednesdays. Check with our Medical Office Assistant for our up-to-date schedule.
In order to provide us with the appropriate focused environment to better complete your forms, we ask that you please book us to have your forms completed on Thursday mornings. Usually, most forms will be filled out that same day. Some forms may require weeks or months before the necessary information is available.