Clinic Policies & Expectations
These policies ensure safe, efficient, and equitable care for all patients.
Key Policies:
Cancellations: Require at least 2 business days’ notice.
No-show fees:
$100 consultation
$50 follow-up
Late arrivals: may not be seen if >10 minutes late after appointment time.
This page includes policies regarding:
Appointments:
Cancellation and no-show policy, Late policy, Virtual care, Weather considerations.Communication
Communication methods, If we are unable to contact you.
Other
Prescription renewals, Uninsured services and forms, Trainees.
Inclusion
Patient expectations & responsibilities
Appointments & Attendance
A valid referral from a physician is required for all consultations.
Consultation visits are in-person only.
Follow-up visits are typically in person; virtual visits may be offered when safe & appropriate.
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The Division of Neurology requires 2 full business days' notice for cancellation and/or rescheduling. If notice is not received and you do not attend your appointment, you will be charged a no-show fee:
$50 for a follow-up, or
$100 for a consultation.
If you do not attend your consultation appointment, the consult request will remain active for 2 weeks. If you do not contact the office within that time, the consult will be closed and a letter will be sent to the referring physician.
A high frequency of no-show appointments interferes with the ability to provide appropriate care. Two no-show appointments within a 12-month period will result in discharge from clinic.
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Dr Charlesworth's clinics generally run on time, except in the case of medical emergencies or unforeseen circumstances. In order to keep to the schedule, we must enforce a late policy.
In general, Dr Charlesworth will not be able to see you if you are more than 10 minutes late after your scheduled appointment time.
If you are running late, please call Angela in case there is flexibility in the day's schedule and you can still be seen.
Late appointments beyond the 10 minute cutoff without a call will be considered a no-show.
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All new consultations are conducted in person to allow for a comprehensive assessment, establish the physician-patient relationship, and perform an examination.
Follow-up appointments are generally also conducted in person. In select situations, virtual visits may be offered when appropriate to improve access to care. Virtual appointments have important limitations, including the inability to perform a complete physical examination. Patients should be aware that despite reasonable safeguards, electronic communication carries inherent privacy risks.
If Dr Charlesworth determines that an in-person assessment is necessary for safe or effective care, your virtual appointment may be converted to an in-person visit.
Telephone appointments are not offered routinely. Brief phone calls may occasionally be used to discuss straightforward test results or other simple matters when appropriate.
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Ottawa winters can be unpredictable. If there is inclement weather, we will contact you at least 24 hours before your appointment to either reschedule or switch to a virtual platform if safe & appropriate. If you do not hear from us, your appointment remains as scheduled.
Communication
Office number: (613) 798 5555 × 78689
Clinic communication will occur by telephone or MyChart unless you provide consent to and request to receive information by email.
We will not discuss health status or clinical questions with anyone other than the patient or Power of Attorney. Family members or support persons are welcome to attend appointments with a patient, with their consent.
Routine phone calls will be answered within 1 business day (except in the case of clinic shutdown; return date will be communicated in the voicemail).
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If we are unable to reach you to schedule an appointment:
The office will call you and will leave a message if you have voicemail enabled.
For consultations: you will receive 2 calls over 2 weeks. If we cannot reach you and you do not return the call, the consultation will be closed and your referring physician will be notified. Another referral will be required before you can be booked for a consultation.
For follow-ups: we will call once and leave a message. If we do not hear from you within a month, your file will be closed and your family physician will receive a letter indicating that we were unable to reach you and you have been discharged from clinic.
Flexibility may be applied in extenuating circumstances, for example, admission to hospital or acute medical illness. Please contact the office to discuss if this applies to you.
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Email is not a secure platform for communication, and will only be used with your explicit permission. Return email is not monitored for clinical questions or emergencies.
For urgent medical concerns, attend either your nearest ER, walk in clinic, or family physician depending on the acuity of your concern.
For non-urgent clinical questions you will need to book an appointment with Dr Charlesworth; we will not discuss medical issues by email.
Testing & Results
For more information on what to expect for outpatient tests, please click here.
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You may be asked to complete bloodwork after your clinic appointment. This can be done at local labs or at The Ottawa Hospital lab. It is the patient’s responsibility to ensure that this is done before the next appointment.
For outpatient tests such as CT, MRI, or sleep study, please call Dr Charlesworth’s office to let us know once you have a date for the test. This will allow us to schedule your appointment in a timely manner after the test is complete.
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Routine test results may be communicated to you by MyChart, phone, email (if you have provided your consent), or at a follow-up appointment. We will not leave a voicemail with test results.
You may be specifically asked to attend a follow-up appointment to discuss results if a reassessment is required.
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You may have access to results on your "MyChart" portal before you have spoken with Dr Charlesworth. Communication of results is triaged according to medical urgency, so you may not hear from the office immediately. If this causes distress, you may choose not to check "MyChart" results until after your follow-up with Dr Charlesworth.
Prescriptions & Refills
Ensure your chart is up to date with your preferred pharmacy, so we can send prescriptions directly.
If you need refills, make sure this is communicated at your clinic appointment.
It is the patient’s responsibility to track prescription refills. When refills are low, please have your pharmacy send a repeat prescription request well in advance. Prescription refill requests will generally be answered within 1 week, although may take longer if there is a clinic shutdown.
For urgent refills, speak with your pharmacist who may be able to provide a short term refill while awaiting your prescription from Dr Charlesworth.
Forms & Uninsured services
Many forms are not covered by OHIP. You will be charged according to OMA fee recommendations for additional forms (generally $30-$180 depending on form length).
If you lose a form and require another copy, a paperwork fee will apply.
Patient Responsibilities
Please bring the following to your appointment:
1- An active (not expired) health card - OHIP or equivalent provincial health coverage.
If you do not have Canadian provincial health coverage, you may be charged as per non-insured rates which will be required in advance of the appointment.
2- Up to date list of medications.
3- If you are followed by other specialists and you would like them to receive a copy of your clinic note, please bring this information to your appointment.
Arrive on-time and prepared.
If Dr Charlesworth is seeing you for a sleep condition and you use a CPAP, please ensure that a CPAP download is available for your appointment. Generally, this means you will need to discuss with your CPAP vendor at least 1 week prior to your appointment.
Inform the clinic of any changes to your contact information or your clinical team (for example, a new family doctor).
Behaviour
Respectful behaviour towards hospital staff and other patients is required at all times. There is a zero tolerance policy for abusive and/or intolerant language or behaviour in person or by telephone.
Any abuse or harassment will result in immediate dismissal from clinic. If harassment or abuse occurs from a family member or support person, they will no longer be able to accompany you to your appointments.
More information on The Ottawa Hospital's policy can be found here.
Trainees
This is a teaching facility; you may be scheduled with and/or be seen by a resident doctor. If you are seen by a resident doctor, Dr Charlesworth will meet with you at the end of the appointment to ensure that the plan is clear and all questions have been answered to your satisfaction.
Concerns & Kudos
If you have concerns and feel comfortable feeding this back, please let us know directly during or after your appointment. Alternatively, you can contact The Ottawa Hospital’s Patient Relations team.
If you had a particularly positive experience with our clinic or one of our clinic staff, please let us know! It is nice to receive positive feedback as well, to ensure we are providing the best care possible.
Inclusion
This clinic is an inclusive and accessible space. We are committed to providing an inclusive, respectful, safe, and accessible environment for all patients. People of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, religions, sizes, and cultures are welcome here.
If you have questions, accessibility needs, or suggestions about how we can better support your care, please let us know.
Discussions about weight
As part of routine preventative health discussions and management of conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, weight may be discussed during appointments.
Discussions about weight can be sensitive, particularly if patients have had negative or stigmatizing experiences within the healthcare system. If you would prefer not to discuss weight, please let Dr. Charlesworth know. Your preferences will be respected; however, choosing not to discuss weight may limit some aspects of counselling or discussion of factors that may contribute to sleep-related conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea.