GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING DR. COOMBS’ PRACTICE

Patients are requested to have their own family doctor

Functional medicine is complimentary to, but does not replace, the services of a regular family doctor. Dr. Coombs focuses on the management of complex chronic illnesses, and does not handle acute medical illnesses, acute injuries, or prenatal care, nor does he do routine physicals, well baby care, or immunizations.  For these services a person will need a regular family doctor. 

If you wish, copies of progress notes outlining the treatments being undertaken here and copies of laboratory tests can be sent to your family doctor. 

Appointments

Usually at least 2-3 months’ notice is required for new appointments, and the appointment must be made by the person (or child's parent) him or herself, not by a third party. The first interview takes 50 minutes. Subsequent follow-up visits are usually 20-30 minutes long. 

Missed appointments

Because of the prolonged visit times in this practice, a missed appointment removes a significant portion of the day's schedule. Therefore, when you are cancelling an appointment, please give at least 2 business days notice for a 50 minute appointment, and one business day notice for shorter appointments. When patients miss appointments without giving adequate notice, and without just cause, their access to further appointments will be limited. 

Office hours

Telephones are answered 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. In office appointments are held noon to 4:00 PM, Tuesday and Thursday. Telephone consultations are fitted in between 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The office is closed on Wednesday, Friday, and weekends.

Telephone and e-mail inquiries

Because of the large number of calls and e-mail messages handled by the office staff, patients are asked not to contact us about issues that could wait until the next appointment [e.g., calls asking for an opinion on products that Dr. Coombs has not recommended, or questions regarding the health of people who are not his patients]. Sometimes Dr. Coombs specifically requests that you contact the office between appointments to provide follow-up about an issue. In this case, it is helpful to send a followup form giving details by e-mail. If calling about an urgent issue and a prompt response is required, please follow the e-mail with a telephone call to the office.

Emergency situations

In emergency situations, you should contact your family doctor, or the closest emergency department for urgent medical care.

Prescription renewals

Prescription renewals are best done by calling your pharmacy to have them fax us a request for renewal. If that cannot be done, please contact us by email, giving the name, dose, and amount of medicine that you need refilled, and the name and telephone number of your pharmacy. Particularly if your call comes late in the day, it may take 24 hours for the pharmacy to be contacted. A charge of $15.00 will be made for prescription renewals made between appointments.

Filling of forms and medical letters

Short forms can be filled out in the course of a medical visit. Lengthy forms and medical letters are often not covered by insurance are charged for on a time basis.

Charges for uninsured services on a time basis

Not all services are covered by the provincial health plan. Services which are not covered are charged for on a time basis, at a rate of $4 per minute.

Transfer of medical records

For transfer of medical records, Dr. Coombs has to write a summary letter, selecting from the lengthy medical records those aspects directly related to medical treatment (such as diagnosis, medications, and laboratory results) that will be relevant to a conventional family practice. A charge is therefore made for this service on a time basis, plus photocopy charges.

Additional specialized laboratory testing

The provincial health plans pay only for standard laboratory testing. However, some more specialized laboratory tests not covered by provincial health plans are very valuable in determining the underlying causes of chronic illness. Dr. Coombs orders such tests only when they are likely to make a difference to the management and outcome of a case. The patient who decides to have these tests done will have to pay the laboratory directly for these fees, as well as any shipping costs involved.

Notification regarding laboratory results

If Dr. Coombs decides that you be need to be notified regarding significant laboratory results before your follow up appointment, then you will be contacted by telephone or e-mail, and if you cannot be reached, then by mail. Sometimes he will specifically ask you to call for results of tests before your next appointment. Otherwise, laboratory results which are not urgent (e.g., test results for food sensitivities, and other tests from specialized US laboratories) will not be discussed until the next follow up appointment. If you do want copies of results sent to you before your next appointment, there will be a $12.00 charge for doing this.