How do doctors work in Canada compared to the US?

[OntarioBound]

I am going to be landing in a couple of months and I am wondering... How do doctors work? It looks like it is hard to change your primary physician and you always have to go to him/her instead of to a clinic? Any good source that explains the system? (I even heard you can change your primary physician only 5 times in your lifetime, etc.)

I would appreciate any help.

 

[CanV]

I am going to be landing in a couple of months and I am wondering... How do doctors work? It looks like it is hard to change your primary physician and you always have to go to him/her instead of to a clinic? Any good source that explains the system? (I even heard you can change your primary physician only 5 times in your lifetime, etc.)

I would appreciate any help.

You can change your family doctor, if you find another. Not sure how many times you can do that but if you move or have a reason then I am not sure why you wouldn't be allowed to.

You have local clinics, mostly not 24 hours, that you can go to. Expect hours of wait. It normally takes couple weeks to see your family doctor.

 

[torontosm]

I am going to be landing in a couple of months and I am wondering... How do doctors work? It looks like it is hard to change your primary physician and you always have to go to him/her instead of to a clinic? Any good source that explains the system? (I even heard you can change your primary physician only 5 times in your lifetime, etc.)

I would appreciate any help.

You can change your primary physician (called Family Doctor here) as often as you would like. You are free to go see him/her, or to go to any of the thousands of "walk-in clinics" located across the country. To see a specialist, you need a referral from either your family doctor or a walk-in clinic doctor.

 

[OntarioBound]

You can change your primary physician (called Family Doctor here) as often as you would like. You are free to go see him/her, or to go to any of the thousands of "walk-in clinics" located across the country. To see a specialist, you need a referral from either your family doctor or a walk-in clinic doctor.

I was told that the family doctor gets charged by the government or something if you end up going to a clinic... Tha is not correct?

 

[Rob_TO]

I was told that the family doctor gets charged by the government or something if you end up going to a clinic... Tha is not correct?

Don't know where you are getting your info from but you should find a new source as everything you've "heard" so far is completely wrong.

You can find a family doctor, or use walk-in clinics, or see a new doctor every month if you really want to. There are no restrictions in terms of what general doctor you want to go to at any time.

 

[OntarioBound]

Don't know where you are getting your info from but you should find a new source as everything you've "heard" so far is completely wrong.

You can find a family doctor, or use walk-in clinics, or see a new doctor every month if you really want to. There are no restrictions in terms of what general doctor you want to go to at any time.

A couple of people have told me that their doctors (different family doctors) said that they get charged if their patients go to clinics. (This is in Ontario...) I don't see how they can stop you from going to the clinics though if the family doctors are not available...

 

[Rob_TO]

A couple of people have told me that their doctors (different family doctors) said that they get charged if their patients go to clinics. (This is in Ontario...) I don't see how they can stop you from going to the clinics though if the family doctors are not available...

As I said, you are free to use family doctor or a walk-in clinic, it's totally up to you which one you want to use on any day. I've never heard of family doctors getting charged by OHIP for this and don't think that is true, but even if it was that would be the doctor's problem and not yours.

 

[OntarioBound]

As I said, you are free to use family doctor or a walk-in clinic, it's totally up to you which one you want to use on any day. I've never heard of family doctors getting charged by OHIP for this and don't think that is true, but even if it was that would be the doctor's problem and not yours.

Thank you very much Rob - Good to know that this (we are discouraged to go to the walk-in clinics) is not a prevalent thought. I did have to go to one of the urgent care clinics in Ontario as an American (no OHIP) and the wait was pretty long (2 hours) compared to the local urgent care in CA of 15-20 minutes, but I guess 2 hours isn't that bad. (I hear the ER wait is much, much longer.)

 

[keesio]

I live in Ontario also and I agree with Rob. I've used walk-in clinics and also my family doctor.

The wait times for walk-in clinics can vary depending on which clinic and when you go. But generally they are longer than the US.