frequently asked questions

1. What hours are you open?

We are open
Seven days a week in peak resort season
Six days a week in off season (closed on Sundays)
Open all stat holidays, Closed Christmas Day

REGULAR HOURS:

9am - 5:30pm
CLOSED 1 - 2pm FOR LUNCH (MAY BE OPEN AT PEAK SEASON - CALL)

During the peak winter season hours may be extended – please call the clinic for information.

The last patient will be typically be booked 15 minutes before closure. Please identify if it is an emergency as exceptions for necessary care may be granted.
Hours will clearly be identified on the front door of our office.
We recommend you call the office to ensure your preferred doctor is on the designated day and book an appointment.

2. Who are your doctors?

Your doctors are Family Practice physicians Dr. Cathryn Zeglinski and Dr. Hugh Fisher

Dr. Cathryn Zeglinski – has additional fellowship training and certification in Sports Medicine

**Holiday and relief coverage may additionally be provided by well trained and carefully selected replacement doctors (i.e. locum tenes).

3. Do you make appointments?

Patients are welcome to drop in without an appointment. We prefer you make a same day scheduled appointment. If you do not show for a booked appointment, this is discourteous both to the doctor and other patients. The doctor has reserved this time exclusively for you and it does not allow other patients who need care to be seen.
If you are late or unable to attend please call to change exam time or cancel.

We schedule same day appointments to ensure that you are always able to access your physician on the day you require care. We understand that the modern lifestyle is difficult to schedule and that emegency situations arise that need to be dealt with immediately. Often you are able to schedule appointments within the hour you request. This ensures you receive continuity of care with your full chart records available for the physician to make correct decisions for medical care.

This innovation in scheduling is being promoted for improved access to your primary care physician eliminating fragmented medical care which leads to errors and poor holistic care. To understand your current medical problem it is critical to have the records of your past medical care which is greatly assisted by our use of electronic records.
 Many leaders in health care management including the renown  Institute for Health Care Improvement (a North American association which is an innovator in improvements to  health care efficiency) has advocated this is the best system to ensure  patients regain timely access to their doctors.

We will schedule appointments on the same day but will make an exception to schedule for the following day for the 9-11am time slots only to ensure you are able to plan your morning accordingly.

For example please call on Tuesday late afternoon to book a morning appointment for Wednesday morning.

4. Are you private? How do you bill?

Canadian Residents:
We bill under the same system as all doctors and clinics operating within British Columbia (BC). We accept and bill to all Canadian health plans (with the exception of Quebec as this province does not accept reciprocal billing). There are no additional charges for general medical services covered by the provincial plans. Some services are not covered benefits of any Canadian health plans, including (but not limited to) driver’s physicals, school/sport physicals, and travel immunizations. We will advise of any additional charges for these services.

Out of Country Patients:
Any out of country patients will be charged in full at the time of service.  We accept Visa, MasterCard, debit or cash.  We will give you a detailed invoice to provide to your insurance company.  Please keep all additional receipts for lab/x-ray and other medical services such as pharmacy/physiotherapy/chiropractic/massage to provide to your insurance company.

We are Canadian Doctors working under license from the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons. We are affiliated with the local Medical Advisory Committee of the Whistler Health Care Centre.

Provincial Plan information:
We will assist you to obtain your medical coverage in BC and have the appropriate forms available to send to the BC government Medical Services Plan to enroll. We recommend you obtain these forms immediately after moving here and mail them immediately as it will take a minimum of 6 weeks to obtain your new BC insurance and number.

In BC there is a fee to be paid monthly for health care but this is waived if your income is low. This is called Premium Assistance. In order to qualify for the reduced premium program you must provide the MSP with the following: the completed premium assistance form, a legal birth certificate and proof of income (last year’s income tax final statement).

It will take up to 8 weeks to obtain coverage in BC. Your provincial plan from home province will cover you for medical care for the balance of the month in which you arrive plus 2 months. After that time you will not be covered in either province and be required to pay for medical services so we suggest you complete and mail the forms for BC coverage upon arrival and establishing residency in BC.

5. Where is the Lab/X-ray?

In Whistler the only lab and x-ray facilities are located at the Whistler Health Care Center, which is located one half block away by foot and 3 blocks by car.  Our doctors are fully licensed to order all available radiological tests, which are limited locally to x-ray and ultrasound.  There is more availability for tests in Squamish, (specialized x-rays and ultrasounds), located south of Whistler 45 minutes away by vehicle, at the Squamish Hospital.

We will obtain CT scans and MRIs in Vancouver ( 1hr 45 minutes away by vehicle)  the nearest centre of availability. We may refer either to the nearest hospitals or private clinics based on the patient's preference for expedited service. Private CT and MRI are available (for a fee) to all patients generally within a few days to a week. The public system (with no cost to Canadians) wait time varies and may be a delay of up to 6 months for MRIs.

6. What to do if I need to see a Doctor after hours?

After hours please call free BC Nurses Hotline 1-866-215-4700 (deaf and hearing impaired call 1-866-889-4700). They will give you advice or direct you to seek immediate medical attention at an emergency department, which in Whistler is located at the Whistler Health Care Centre corner of Lorimer and Blackcomb Way.
Call 911 for ambulance or 604-932-4911 to access emergency physician on call

7. What is your phone number?

Our phone number is (604) 932-8362 which does accept messages on the answering machine. We prefer that you call during our business hours to speak with one of our medical office assistants to ensure no errors ever occur with missed or lost important information.

8. What if I am moving?

Please ensure you update your address and contact information if you move.
We will ask at every visit that you confirm the contact information that we have on file due to the frequency of changed residences and phone numbers in our community. We appreciate your patience with this system.

We request that you provide us with a permanent mailing address and a local contact number with the ability to accept messages. We will call to advise you of appointments, or the need to follow up on test results etc and will call you during business hours. It is vital that we contact you in a timely manner so please ensure we are able to contact you.

9. How can I find out my results?

You will be notified of any result requiring treatment or further consultation with the doctor. NO TEST RESULTS WILL BE GIVEN, OR DISCUSSED OVER THE PHONE. Our medical assistants are not authorized to discuss any results, but may tell you whether it is urgent or non-urgent so you will have an indication of the need for more expedited appointments. Pap tests may take up to two (2) months for results, so ensure we have your current number if you move.

10. How do I obtain crutches/splints/braces?

The clinic has crutches available for rental or purchase. Splints are additionally available for a fee or we may refer you to a local supplier for other sports medicine bracing needs.

11. Do you have a wheelchair available to use?

We have a wheelchair to assist injured or ill patients to load from their car or hotel shuttle in to the clinic from adjacent parking or loading bays. There are wheelchair ramps on both sides of the clinic. Please bring and leave one major piece of ID and sign a waiver to borrow the chair. You may wheel the patient directly into the waiting and exam room.

12. Sports Medicine

In addition to 15 years of experience in primary care family medicine, Dr. Cathryn Zeglinski has been Whistler’s Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine Accredited, Fellowship trained Sports Medicine Physician (primary care) since 1998. She is available to see you as a Family Doctor and/or for sports medicine needs without a referral. If, however, you have an existing/ongoing Family Doctor and would like to see her for a sports medicine problem only, she will accept referrals from your Doctor. Please ask your physician to arrange the consultation. These appointments will be more extensive (ie: longer time allocated than drop-in and scheduled appointments). Your Doctor will receive a letter detailing your condition and plan of management as part of the referral. It is expected that you will return to your doctor for any other family practice needs

If you would like a longer, more detailed scheduled appointment for a sports medicine problem, a referral from another family doctor is advised.

13. Do you do Hotel visits?

Based on doctor availability we offer prepaid private hotel visit consultations. This service is available to out of country patients only due to restrictions in the Canada Health Act. We prefer patients to attend our fully equipped clinic for an exam as it is better equipped compared to a hotel room with all equipment, medications and staff assistance readily available.

14. How are you equipped to help the disabled?

The clinic is designed to meet the needs of the disabled in a variety of ways including

• electric push button disabled access door
• two (2) wheelchair ramps to access the clinic
• disabled parking in front of the clinic
• designated seating area for wheelchair in our waiting room
• reception has a counter at height for wheelchair desk height for speaking with reception and signing
• larger room with hydraulic bed for ease of transfers
• bathroom with appropriate turning radius for wheelchair access
• grab bars at toilet (both sides)
• hooks on doors at appropriate height for wheelchair user
• levered door handles for use with limited upper extremity control
• no touch tap in sink of bathroom, exam rooms have levered taps and automated paper towel dispensers in all rooms
• bright lighting for visually impaired and no clutter on floors or walls

15. Environmental

We ensure utmost cleanliness (i.e.: hospital-level sterility). Our non-porous stainless steel sinks and counters do not allow bacterial/viral growth. Our beds have no seams so they do not trap dirt. Our paper use is minimized through use of electronic charts, limited use of table paper (sterilized with cleansing sprays after any skin contact). For extensive contact (physicals/paps/etc.), full paper roll will be used. Cloth gowns and drapes are used which are more comfortable and provide good coverage as compared to paper. Metal equipment is autoclaved (i.e.: superheated to temperature sterilized of surgical equipment) surgical equipment and pap speculums. If you prefer the use of a plastic speculum for pelvic exams, please request, however they contribute considerably to our landfill waste (large amount of plastic discarded after just one use).

In the construction of the clinic and in perpetuity we structure our systems to be environmentally friendly:

• low VOC paints
• engineered wood
• use of natural light – minimizing the need for electrical lighting
• reception has lights over desk for assistants working extended hours to enable remaining lights to be extinguished
• programmable thermostat (cool at night, comfortable temperature during day)
• reuse of all non-patient/non-secretive document paper for scrap paper as an alternative to discarding
• staff recycle
• staff encouraged to use environmentally friendly transportation to work, bikes, etc