At BMC, we recognize that the Personal Health Information (PHI) of our patients deserves to be treated with respect and that privacy must be protected. We take measures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of your PHI is protected in compliance with Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (2004) and generally accepted public expectations for privacy. Both physical and technological safeguards will be undertaken at BMC to ensure the protection of your PHI. Access to your PHI is limited to those who need to know to help provide your care including physicians, nurses, medical assistants and in a more limited sense our front staff team. Any unintentional Privacy breach will comply with all applicable legislative and regulatory requirements in the event of a privacy breach, including notification and reporting requirements.
Patient confidentiality is a fundamental aspect to maintain the privacy of PHI. It is not only an ethical obligation of physicians, but also a legal one. There are few exceptions. It is important that as a patient of BMC you too understand and respect the principle of confidentiality when it comes to issues re: family members including but not limited to spouses, parents, children > 16yo, and children < 16yo who are deemed capable. Even if consent is provided, physicians are not obligated to provide updates on PHI to relatives if the patient is capable of managing their own health affairs and has or will be communicated to directly.
At Brightside Medical, our goal is to provide timely and accessible medical care to all patients. Missed appointments or late cancellations limit our ability to offer appointments to other patients in need. To continue to ensure fair and timely access to care for all our patients, the following policy is in effect:
A no-show occurs when:
No-show and late-cancellation fees apply to all OHIP and non-OHIP-covered services, clinic visits, including but not limited to:
Fee Structure:
Fees are subject to change upon our annual review.
Fees may be waived at the discretion of the clinic for:
Patients must notify the clinic as soon as possible if such circumstances arise.
As a courtesy, the clinic provides appointment reminders by text and email.
However, failure to receive a reminder does not exempt a patient from no-show fees.
This policy is in place to:
BMC is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment and will not tolerate harassment, assault, violence, or threats directed at staff, other patients, visitors, and/ or other people in our workplace. Rude or disrespectful language or behaviour will also not be tolerated. Any breach will result in immediate termination from BMC and if required measures are in place to summon, respond to, and report such incidents, should they occur.
Uninsured services are those that are not covered by OHIP. Patients are responsible for the fees incurred for the rendering of such services. A proposed fee structure for such fees is published annually by the Ontario Medical Association. Included here is a list of common services that are not OHIP funded and the associated fees. Please take the time to read this such that you are familiar with these should the need arise for such services. At BMC you will never be charged for a service that is covered by OHIP. Furthermore, physicians will give consideration to whether it would be appropriate to reduce, waive, or allow for flexibility based on compassionate grounds. Whether it is appropriate to adjust fees on compassionate grounds will depend on a variety of factors including the nature of the service being provided and the specific financial circumstances of the patient.
Referrals/ Forms & Decision Making
Wait times for forms/ Rx refills/ etc
Outside Use
Providing a good history
Controlled substances & agreements
Expected follow-up & communications of test results
