Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us with any additional questions you may have .

Scheduling appointments

Upon calling the office for an appointment, you will be offered the first available appointment. Front staff do not have medical training to determine the severity of your conditions. They will try to accommodate everyone, however, please realize they can only schedule appointments within the time slots available.

How are time slots allotted?

A typical office appointment has a 15-minute time allotment; this gives Dr. Rheault time to listen to your concern, examine you and formulate a treatment plan for you.

Are there same-day appointments available?

Yes, there are always same-day appointments or “squeeze-in” appointments every day. These are meant to deal with relatively quick issues and minor problems. These are not meant for chronic disease management, forms or any other issues that would necessitate more time. Examples would include sore ears; a sore throat; bladder infections; chest colds. Only one problem will be discussed during a “squeeze-in” appointment.

I have multiple issues to address; why can I only discuss two?

By focusing on one or two issues, these concerns can be addressed in-depth versus having both parties leave the appointment with the feeling that things were rushed and issues were not fully addressed.

If you have additional concerns to discuss please book another appointment upon leaving.  Remember to discuss your more pressing concerns first and rebook if needed for more minor concerns.

Can I book a follow up appointment for my results?

Although Dr. Rheault reviews all labs and test results that he orders, patients are always more than welcome to book follow-up appointments to review their results together. Upon review of your results, if Dr. Rheault wishes to discuss them with you, our staff will be contacting you to book a follow up appointment.

Nursing services provided, what are they?

Our nurse provides services that often do not require an appointment to be booked with the physician. For example simple monitoring of height/weight / blood pressure, suture/staple removals, ear syringing, certain immunization updates, testing of urines. If there is any concern the nurse will reach out to the doctor or book you an appointment.

I dropped off forms, when can I expect them to be ready?

Family Physicians face an ever-increasing number of requests by patients and third parties to complete forms.  Although CPSO guidelines suggests physicians have up to 60 days to complete forms, Dr. Rheault endeavors to complete these as soon as possible.

Forms are date stamped and completed by time of arrival.  Please don’t call the office to ask if they are completed, we will call you once completed since it doesn’t speed up the process.

All forms have a fee associated with them and you can inquire about a cost estimate ahead of the work being done. Please ensure the patient section and consent signature is completed when submitting forms.  If these sections are not completed your forms will be returned for completion.

To view Dr. Rheault’s Schedule of Fees for Uninsured Services, please click here.

Telephone lines are always busy?

Although this is a common complaint this is very rarely the case.  Since we have moved to our new location we now have 8 lines available that roll over to the next available line.  Ironically some patients are able to get through 5 or 6 times a day.

Please be prepared to wait on hold until the receptionist can get to you.  Once you have the receptionist be prompt at booking your appointment by simply stating why the appointment is needed and avoid going into details about your symptoms.

Take proper notation of your appointment since this is a major reason for our busy telephone lines, with people calling to confirm their appointment or because they forgot their appt time.

I need my prescriptions renewed what do I do?

Dr. Rheault will prescribe appropriate medication for your condition however ultimately making certain you have enough medication to last until your next appointment is your responsibility. Do not wait until you have only a few pills left to book an appointment. Once you have received your last refill please rebook an appointment for your next refill and medication review, since it can take up to 3 weeks for an appointment. 

This is another major reason our phone lines get so busy.

Once Sparrow Health is active we will no longer be accepting prescription renewal requests from pharmacies. You can book an office appointment or use the new Sparrow Health platform for your renewals.  Prescription renewal procedures are clearly explained under Sparrow Health link under their FAQ tab.

Why can't I communicate with the office by email?

On our previous site we had patients sending emails that were not appropriate and also images on a non secure email server and in view of patient privacy and safety we have decided to remove the email option.  Patients will continue to send in paperwork e,g, blank insurance forms to our generic office email which is not related to this website.

Office Visits

Like most physician across the province, we have large practices and we do appreciate the struggles people have in trying to access the office for appointments. Here are some tips for making the most of your appointments, to ensure proper booking and to free up the phone lines.

Be clear and concise

Be clear on the reason why you want the appointment, i.e. physical exam, sore ear, high blood pressure, etc. If there is a personal reason you do not want to disclose, please notify the receptionist.  Understanding your needs helps us with appropriate scheduling and maximizes your time in the office.

We have limited availabilities and you will be offered the earliest appointment available; therefore, be prepared to wait longer if the first suggestion is not convenient to you.

Limit the issues

In order to properly assess your medical concerns we will strictly adhere to 2 problems, for a 15 min time slot. You will be asked to reschedule a follow-up appointment to discuss less pressing issues.

Test results

We always reserve same day appointments for quick simple issues instead of having to run to Walk-In Clinics, i.e common colds, bladder infections, and sore ears/throat. For your after-hours care, you are to go to our FHO after-hours clinic at 1485 Bancroft Drive. www.sudburyfho.com.  Dr. Rheault has no affiliation with any other medical clinics.

After Hours Care

We always reserve same day appointments for quick simple issues instead of having to run to Walk-In Clinics, i.e common colds, bladder infections, and sore ears/throat. For your after-hours care, you are to go to our FHO after-hours clinic at 1485 Bancroft Drive. www.sudburyfho.com

Repeated use of non-FHO walk-in clinics

We receive a monthly list of clinic visits from the Ministry of Health. Repeated use of non-FHO walk-in clinics will lead to de-rostering from the practice.

Vaccine Records

Please keep track of your vaccine records; it is your responsibility. (If we have to look for them for you this is not covered and you will be charged a fee).

Valid Health Card

A valid health card is your sole responsibility you will be charged 40$ for any visit if your health card is expired or invalid.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS

Please be courteous and respect your allotted appointment time. When people miss appointments without notification this essentially takes away an appointment that someone else could have utilized.

We ask that you give us a 12-hr notice if you are unable to attend your appointment.

Arrive 5-10 minutes ahead of your appointment in order to be ready for your time slot. If you are late more than 10 minutes you will need to be rescheduled, therefore please plan ahead.

The missed appointment fee of 40-80$ will need to be reconciled prior to your next visit.