Policies and Procedures

The Ontario Medical Association is encouraging physicians to adopt the policy of charging for prescription renewals without an appointment. Our clinic policy is changing to reflect this, in line with many of the surrounding clinics in our region.

A prescription renewal without a visit consists of a not insignificant amount of work. Your doctor must access your chart, review the continued appropriateness of the prescription, whether you are due for any monitoring for safety of the medication (for example, blood work or vitals such as blood pressures) and if so, arrange the appropriate follow up. This is the equivalent of a medical visit! 

Every day, our office receives a large number of prescription requests, even from patients who:  

   (i) Already have repeats at their pharmacy;  

   (ii) Call in for one medication one day, and then call in for another a few days later, instead of calling in for them all at once; 

   (iii) Call in for a prescription even though they just recently saw the doctor and could have asked for it then. 

   (iv) Have misplaced prescriptions that were already given. 

How will charging a fee help?

For years, many physicians’ offices have already been charging a fee for prescriptions without visits. These offices report the following advantages: 

   • Patients take increased responsibility and improve organization of their medications. 

   • The number of prescription requests drops significantly, from hundreds a month down to less than a few per day, in most cases. 

   • This frees up physician time to care for patients. It also frees up the telephone and fax lines for more urgent matters. 

In many cases, if a patient is running out of medications, it is time for the patient to come in for a visit anyway, which in turn improves patient care. 

To minimize the charges to you, we ask that at any appointment you attend with me, you ensure that you bring to my attention if you are running low on any medications, so we can address it when you are already at the clinic. This will cut down on extra appointments needed to only address prescriptions. 

Can I still get a prescription without an appointment?

If you would like your doctor  to send in a prescription without an appointment, it must be a medication that you are already taking, and a $20 charge will apply. You can expect your refill within 7 business days and you will receive an invoice from PatientSERV by email or mail. Prescription renewals without a visit are covered for patients who are a member of the clinic plan through PatientSERV. 

Please know that the primary purpose is not to collect revenue from patients but rather to decrease the tremendous administrative burden of avoidable prescription requests. 

Clarifications and Examples:

• Multiple medications on a single prescription request count as only one For example, if a patient requests 5 medications at once, the fee is $20 (not $100).
• If a patient calls in for a medication one day, and then again the next day (or even a few hours later), that counts as 2 separate requests, $20 each.
• If a patient requests a prescription renewal, even if he/she should still have repeats, your doctor will renew a fresh prescription as requested and the fee applies.
• The fee applies to all of telephone and voicemail requests.

Exceptions When the Fee may be Waived on a one-time basis: 

• Your doctor will make exceptions on a case by case basis and waive/reduce the fee in special circumstances, such as:
  • Frail, elderly, patients, or those with dementia, who cannot easily come in for a visit.
  • Patients who cannot be offered a Prescription Renewal Visit before their medication is due.

If you unexpectedly run out of refills, your community pharmacist is able to refill most of your regular, long-term prescriptions as an “emergency supply” until you visit your doctor.

After Hours Clinics  and Hospital Emergency Rooms should not be used solely for prescription renewals. If this becomes a recurring pattern, you will be discharged from the practice.