Practice policies
These policies apply to every family the clinic sees. They are shown and acknowledged during intake, before the first appointment is booked, so that nothing here comes as a surprise.
Missed appointments and late cancellations
Appointment time is set aside for your child. If a new consultation is missed, or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, a fee of $150 applies. This fee is not covered by OHIP.
How to cancel or reschedule: please email referrals@bbdclinic.ca at least 24 hours before the appointment, quoting the reference code. Cancellations made in time carry no fee.
This policy follows the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario guidance on charging for missed appointments, and each of the following applies before any fee is charged:
- The clinic has a cancellation system (email) so that cancellations can always be made.
- The policy and the amount are disclosed in advance, on this page and during intake, where you acknowledge them before booking.
- The physician was available to see your child at the scheduled time.
- The fee is set as reasonable cost recovery for the reserved time, not as a penalty. It is $150, which reflects the length of a new consultation.
- A first missed appointment is normally waived, with a reminder of the policy. The fee is considered from a second incident.
- An itemised invoice is provided by email with a secure payment link. Questions about an invoice can be sent to referrals@bbdclinic.ca.
Ability to pay is taken into account. If the fee would cause hardship, please tell the clinic; a waiver or a payment arrangement can be discussed.
For elective follow-up visits, an outstanding fee is settled before another appointment is booked unless an exception is agreed. Care that is clinically required is never withheld because a fee is outstanding.
Respectful conduct
Families and clinic staff treat each other with courtesy. Abusive, threatening or discriminatory language or behaviour, in person, on video, by phone or in writing, is not accepted.
Where such behaviour occurs, the clinic may end a visit, and in serious or repeated cases may end the care relationship in line with CPSO policy, with notice and a transfer of records to the child's primary care provider.
Contacting the clinic
- Until the clinic's voicemail line is published, please email referrals@bbdclinic.ca for administrative questions such as booking, cancelling or invoices. Messages are answered within 3 business days.
- The clinic is not an emergency service, and email is not monitored continuously. If your child is unwell, call your doctor, go to the nearest emergency department, or call 911.
- Clinical care is not provided by ordinary email. Ordinary email is not a secure channel for health information. Once your child is a patient, the clinic will tell you how to send secure messages, which is the preferred way to raise non-urgent matters.
- From January 2027, referring clinicians can send referrals through the referral form on this site. The referrals email address is for administrative correspondence and carries no patient details.
Uninsured services
OHIP covers the consultation and follow-up visits for children with a valid Ontario health card. It does not cover missed appointments, letters for school, camp or other third parties, completion of forms, and some other administrative services.
Fees for uninsured services are quoted before the work is done and invoiced with a secure payment link. The clinic follows the Ontario Medical Association guidance on uninsured services.
Test results and referrals to other services
Tests ordered by the clinic are recorded, and the results are reviewed by the physician when they arrive. Results that need action are communicated to the family, and significant results are followed up until they are addressed.
If the clinic refers your child to another service, the referral is tracked until it is acknowledged. Families are asked to tell the clinic if they have not heard from the other service within the expected time.
Routine results are reviewed at the next visit unless the physician decides sooner contact is needed.
How the clinic handles personal health information is described in the privacy notice.
Next steps
Referring a child?
The clinic starts accepting referrals in January 2027. The criteria are published now.
A parent or guardian?
Families cannot refer themselves. Your child's doctor or nurse practitioner decides whether a referral to the clinic is right.