FAQ

Common Questions

What should I do if I need medical care and the office is closed?

If you have a medical emergency, call 911.

For more serious problems, or problems outside these hours, the Emergency Department is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Over the phone medical advice is available through Health Link Phone Line: 780-408-LINK (5465).

There is a doctor on call for the clinic available after hours. The doctor on call's contact information is on our answering machine. Please note that the physician on call is not being paid to be available for patients and if any of the above will address your needs, please pursue them first.

How do I get a prescription refill?

Please plan ahead and book an appointment for your prescription refill before you are out of medication. If this is not possible, please still book an appointment as soon as possible. Then, please go your regular pharmacy and inform them of when your appointment is. Most pharmacists will provide enough medication to last until your appointment. If they are unable to provide this service, then the pharmacy can fax a prescription refill request to the office and we will provide a prescription refill for a fee of $20.00. Any phone refill requests will be charged the $20.00 prescription refill fee.

Is anyone in the clinic taking new patients?

We are currently not accepting new patients, and we do not see walk-in patients.

There are select physicians taking new maternity patients.

Pregnant patients, please see the Women's Health section of this website to see your options for delivering through Westgrove Clinic.

How do I get my results for tests I have had done?

Each physician reviews labs, x-rays and other tests daily. These are imported electronically every day. If the physician finds a problem or wishes to see you again, that physician will send a message to their Follow Up Assistant. That person will contact you to set up another appointment.

In order for the Assistant to contact you to set up an appointment, please ensure that your phone numbers on file at the clinic are accurate.

If you have not heard about your results and would like to know them, please call the office at 780-962-9888 or book an appointment on-line with the physician who ordered the test for you. It is especially important to book an appointment to review results if you are still having symptoms.

I have been referred to a specialist and have not heard from the office. What is my next step?

You may call the office at 780-962-9888, extension # 5 or ask for the Referral Coordinator.

Your questions can be answered by the Referral Coordinator quite quickly as your referral is tracked until it is completed. Please be aware that it often takes many months to get in to see a specialist. We will let you know as soon as we can when your appointment is.

Why would I be billed for a missed appointment?

We are attempting to improve access to all patients for each physician.

Surprisingly enough, we have countless no show appointments each day. Some days we record 25 or more no shows. These appointments may have even been booked that morning or confirmed a day or two prior. By having this amount of missed appointments, it takes longer to get in to see your doctor.

We are hoping that by sending out warning letters and invoices, that patients will become more aware of the need to cancel their appointments.

Why do I have to see a Resident or Medical Student when I come to the clinic?

Westgrove Clinic is a teaching facility associated with the Faculty of U of A. We have many preceptors accepting residents and medical students at Westgrove Clinic. Part of the program for physicians is to do clinical experience to provide them with real life experience combined with learning. This provides the base for any physician.

Westgrove provides residents with this very important opportunity.

If residents and medical students are not provided with this very important opportunity they do not get all the skills needed to be new physicians in our communities.

We encourage you to assist in this learning experience but you may also decline to do so.

What is a Nurse Practitioner?

A Nurse Practitioner is a Registered nurse who has taken 5 years extended education. The Nurse Practitioner has a Masters Degree.

The individual Nurse Practitioners are booked with each physician to help access for patients.

A Nurse Practitioner can take care of the majority of a patient's needs with the exception of invasive procedures and narcotic or benzodiazepine prescriptions.

To see our Nurse Practitioner's profile please see Clinic Information - Nurses: N.P.s and L.P.N.s.

To learn more about Nurse Practioners please visit the following website: http://www.nurses.ab.ca/Carna/index.aspx?WebStructureID=1045

Can I book on-line appointments?

Some of our doctors have online booking available. You can book an appointment with our on-line booking system by going to our Online Booking page. Please be aware that certain types of appointments can not be booked on-line: complete physicals, same day appointments, extended appointments, appointments with the nurse practitioner and procedures such as IUDs, endometrial biopsies, mole removals, vasectomies and circumcisions. Please call our office at 780-962-9888 for all of these appointment types.

What are some of the reasons why I do not get to see my doctor at my scheduled appointment time?

A common complaint from patients is that they wait too long in our waiting room for their appointment. We understand that this can be extremely frustrating. All our physicians try to run on time, however, there are many reasons why this doesn't always occur:

1) We have a very sick patient - we try to book the length of time for each patient that we think that it will take. There are often unpredictably very sick patients who require extra time. We have to spend the time with these patients and hope you can respect the fact that if you are very sick, we will take the extra time with you.

2) Patients are late for appointments- if patients are late, it puts us behind and everyone else waits as a result.

3) Obstetrics - Many of our doctors deliver babies. They come on their own schedule and not ours. Thus we can be running late if we have to go deliver a baby or we might be forced to reschedule your appointment for another day.

4) Incorrect bookings- Please be very clear when booking your appointment about the service you require. If you say that all you need is a prescription refill, this will be booked as a short appointment. If there are more than two prescriptions, the prescriptions are for an illness that needs to be closely monitored (e.g. diabetes) or if a prescription will need to be changed, then you will require extra time.

5) Patients of family members wish to be seen - Often our patients will request that 'while they are here' we see other family members. We don't have time booked for these extra visits. If we do see them we will run behind. Please respect our other patient's time and book appointments for everyone who wishes to be seen that day.

6) Patients have too many concerns for one visit - Every medical complaint that a person has takes time to manage. If you have multiple concerns please list them in order of importance. We can deal with one major issue per visit OR a couple of smaller concerns. Please respect the fact your doctor may ask you to book another appointment in order to finish addressing all of your concerns. If one of your concerns is chest pain, abdominal pain, shortness of breath or a mood problem, please mention this first as it will likely take all of your appointment time.

What services can the LPN provide for patients?

Our Licensed Practical Nurses see patients daily.

The services that they provide to physicians and patients include:

Injections, Wart treatments, Dressing Changes, Cast Removal, Mini Mental Exams, Prenatal Preparation, Ear Flushing, Chronic Disease Management.

To book an appointment with the LPN call the switchboard at 780-962-9888.

To learn more about Licensed Practical Nurses please visit the following website:

http://www.clpna.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ft0sHV6yN5A%3d&tabid=149

Can I book with any physician in the clinic?

For the best possible patient care, you should consistently book appointments with one regular physician, your family doctor. If you are unable to get in with your regular family doctor in the time you require, then please try to book with one of the doctors who is on your doctor's team. For more information about the physician teams at Westgrove Clinic, please click here.

There are always same days openings for emergent conditions which can be booked with whoever is available.

I have been asked to come in for Complex Disease Management/Complex Care Plan appointment. What is this ?

Our patients who have certain multiple, medical problems will be asked to come in for this type of appointment. This is because you are one of our more complex patients. We want to review your medications and other treatments for these problems. In addition, we want to create a plan to manage these problems for the next year. Studies have shown better outcomes for patients who have one of these visits per year.

Please either bring all of your medication bottles or a list of all medication you are currently taking. This includes herbal medication and vitamins.

Why do I have to see the doctor twice if I need an IUD or to have something removed (e.g. a mole)?

To have a procedure done such as: mole removal, IUD insertion or endometrial biopsy, you must first have an appointment to discuss this procedure with the physician performing the procedure prior to booking the actual procedure. This is due to the fact that we need to ensure that we are going to perform the most appropriate procedure on you and that you are aware of the potential risks and side effects. For IUDs and endometrial biopsies you are sometimes given medication to take prior to the procedure.