Do you provide prenatal care?  I’m newly pregnant – what do I do next?

We perform prenatal exams up to the third trimester and then transfer your care to a health practitioner of your choice: obstetrician, family physician or mid-wife.  If you are newly pregnant, please call our office to arrange a visit within 1-2 weeks as there are early screening tests that are available and need to be booked early (including dating ultrasound and bloodwork).

Please see the following link for useful information and resources on pregnancy.

http://pregnancyvancouver.ca/

Do you provide routine baby care?  I’ve just arrived home with a newborn baby – what do I do next?

We provide routine baby care at the recommended intervals (1 wk, 1 month, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 18 months).  We do not perform the early childhood immunizations and can direct you to the vaccination clinic at your closest community health care centre.  We do perform the booster vaccines at ages 4-6 years old in the office.  We also do routine pediatric exams (recommended yearly at ages 2, 3, and 4 prior to entering kindergarten).

You can now enrol your baby in the Medical Services Plan through the online birth registration service by the BC Vital Statistics Agency at the following link.  You must do this as soon as possible after birth to ensure your baby has medical coverage:

https://ebr.vs.gov.bc.ca

Are you accepting new patients?

Dr. Ip and Dr. Kassam are accepting external referrals from family physicians for patients with skin related issues. Please see your GP to request a referral to Dr. Ip or Dr. Kassam. Appointment notifications are provided directly to patients and their GPs within 1 to 2 weeks.

We are not currently accepting new family practice patients to our wait list.

How do I book to complete a form?

Most forms are not covered by MSP and are subject to a fee (set by the Doctors of BC). These include forms for camp, work, disability (including EI), driving, exercise (Par Med X in pregnancy), and parking (SPARC- BC).  Please ensure you notify the receptionist when booking a visit to complete a form.

Where can I park?

We have free parking available along Cambie Street in front of the clinic between West 14th and 15th.  We also have free visitor’s parking for up to 2 hours in the Pacifica parkade, located just off of West 14th.  Please buzz the clinic (3029) and we will assist you into the parkade.

Do you provide travel advice?

We do not provide any travel advice. Please contact your local travel clinic before leaving for your trip.

Home

Please book an appointment after any important tests to review your results, unless instructed otherwise. We do our absolute best to ensure that all tests are appropriately reviewed, but electronic and human error can occur. Please allow adequate time for your results to arrive to our office from the lab or hospital.

Existing family practice patients at Cambie Village must see their GP at Cambie first and a consult by Dr. Ip or Dr. Kassam will be decided by your GP.

Dr. Ip and Dr. Kassam are accepting external referrals from family physicians for patients with skin related issues. Please see your GP to request a referral to Dr. Ip or Dr. Kassam. Appointment notifications are provided directly to patients and their GPs within 1 to 2 weeks.

Our physicians are able to do phone appointments for simple requests (rx refills, simple re-referrals, medical notes) however, phone appointments are not appropriate for all concerns (infections, fevers, acute injuries etc). If you are unsure if you need a phone appointment or not, please let our staff know the reason for your appointment and they will book you appropriately.

For all phone appointments, please allow at least a 1 hour window for your physician to call you. Often medical clinics run behind due to unforeseen circumstances and a missed phone appointment will still incur a missed appointment fee.

Please note – phone appointments may come from a “No Caller ID” or a “Blocked” number. This is because occasionally our physicians use their personal phones to make calls. Please ensure your phone accepts blocked calls. If you miss a phone appointment because your phone does not accept blocked calls, a missed appointment fee will be applied.

 

The most challenging part of family practice from our end is thoroughly addressing all of your problems in one visit. While we do not believe in enforcing the “one problem per visit” because we believe your time is just as valuable as ours, a regular office visit is 10 minutes (as we are only reimbursed by MSP for 1 problem per visit) and we like to stay on schedule as much as possible.   Average wait times can be 15 to 30 minutes and we try our best to avoid longer wait times.

It is most helpful to us if you can present all of your concerns at the beginning of the visit so that we can determine which one is the most important that needs to be addressed urgently. If there is time available we will try to address other issues, but we may need to ask you to return for a follow-up visit.  Good medicine takes time.

What makes family medicine unique is that what comes through our doors is unpredictable.  So please understand that if your wait time is longer than usual, this is because we needed to spend more time with a sick or complex individual that either needed an urgent fit-in or an extended visit.

 

All referrals including for massage and physiotherapy as well as specialists require an office visit. The MOAs are unable to share lab results over the phone but we are able to tell you whether a result is urgent or non-urgent.

To book an appointment, please call the office during office hours between 8:00 – 4:30 pm on a regular weekday (we are closed from 12-1 for lunch), or between 8:00 – 7:30 pm on Wednesdays (we do answer calls between 12-1).  Please notify us if you wish to book a pap smear, routine baby check-up or prenatal visit. Regular appointments vary between 10 to 20 minutes, with longer appointments of up to 30 minutes reserved for skin procedures and forms.

Online bookings are now available for existing patients only at the following link.

https://675.myaccession.com

Please inform us if you need to complete a form, or report an accident that is an ICBC or Work-safe BC claim.  Upon arrival at the clinic, the receptionist will ask that you complete an accident report for the physician before your visit.

If you have other medical issues also to discuss, a separate visit will be needed.  Most forms including for school, work, travel, or insurance (including disability) are not covered by MSP and will incur a private fee.  Upon arrival at the clinic, the receptionist will ask that you complete an accident report for the physician before your visit.

We require 24 hours’ notice for cancellation of an appointment and do NOT accept any cancellations by email. Please phone the office and select option 3 if you wish to cancel an appointment. All missed regular appointments (including phone appointments) will be charged $50 for a no show fee and missed paps will be charged $80. Missed dermatology specialty appointments will incur a $75 fee and up depending on appointment length.

 

Many services are not covered by the Medical Services Plan, including: cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen for hand warts (plantar and genital warts are covered) and other benign skin lesions, excision of benign moles, cortisone injections for keloid scars, and most medical forms including sick notes and forms for camp, work, school and immigration.