Update 2022-07-15: This post has been revised to reflect the most recent information as of July 2022.
We would like to provide all prospective patients with an update regarding our registration process as it stands today.
We have been pushing forward with our updated registration process, which you can read more about in our original blog post on the topic here. This effort has allowed us to provide as much access as possible to individuals seeking a new primary care physician during these difficult times.
Recently, our availability to accept new patients has become more limited, and we would like to help manage expectations of those who have been patiently waiting. We have outlined several factors below to provide a bit more context.
Volume of Patients Registering
On a monthly basis, anywhere from 300 to over 500 new patient intake appointments are conducted each month with Magenta Health physicians. Most of these appointments are for families, and so that adds up to potentially 1000 new patients a month.
Unfortunately, upwards of 2000 individuals register each month, meaning there will mathematically not be enough available appointments to accommodate everyone who has registered.
Why do so many individuals register each month? There’s a multitude of reasons, two key reasons being a provincial-wide shortage of family doctors and the pandemic resulting in people moving more. Our clinics are also generally located in rapidly growing communities.
Prioritization of Patients Whose Physicians Have Recently Departed
Over the past several months, there have been two more Magenta Health physicians that have transitioned away from their practices with our clinic. You can read more about these most recent transitions here and here.
Due to these departures, we have needed to attempt to redistribute another group of approximately 1000 existing patients, which subsequently affects our ability to accept new patients.
New Physicians Joining the Team
Given the continuing demand for care, we are continuing to bring new physicians on board. This summer Dr. Kaitlin Pattrick joined our Beach location. Moving into the fall, we have two more physicians who will be joining Magenta Health.
More physicians will continue to join us in the coming months, although the honest expectation is that our capacity to take on new patients will never fully meet community demand.
What do I do if I don’t see any availability for X days?
For those patients who cannot find intake availability with their assigned physician at their preferred clinic location, we can offer 2 options:
Option 1: continue to check back periodically, as cancelled appointments are made available immediately. Additionally, new appointments are released on the 15th of each month, generally at the beginning of the day.
Option 2: check other physician availability at your preferred clinic or another clinic location with the understanding that it is not an option to switch physicians or clinics after your initial intake appointment. If you are interested in checking the other clinics, the link to the other clinic intake appointment booking pages is included under Section #8 on the booking page titled “Limited Availability”.
That being said, unfortunately, even with these options, there still may not be enough availability to accommodate all individuals looking to schedule an appointment. In particular, our capacity to accept new patients depends on the individual’s preferred location, preferred physician, and the volume of individuals attempting to book an intake appointment within said preferences.
Unfortunately, we cannot give a definitive timeframe for when you will be able to book an intake appointment. You might be able to book one within a few weeks but it also may take several months. It is dependent on all of the factors that we indicated above.
We sympathize with any frustration that those of you who have been waiting several months may be feeling; we’re doing our best in difficult circumstances to provide as much access to care to as many people as possible.