December 2009: Please be advised that effective January 1 2011, Dr. Drucker will be closing his outpatient clinical practice, and redirecting the available time to his university and hospital-based research program. This has been an extremely difficult decision, given the very important nature of both of these competing priorities. We will make every effort possible to provide information for patients in regard to transferring their ongoing care to other endocrinologists and thyroid/thyroid cancer specialists. Please contact our office if you have any questions about appointments or ongoing care.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will I find a new thyroid specialist?

Patients may obtain referrals to a new thyroid specialist from other physicians, primarily their family doctors office, gynecologist, or occasionally, their thyroid surgeon. Some thyroid cancer surgeons already follow their patients regularly and many patients may elect to arrange follow-up with their thyroid surgeon.  Below is a list of local endocrinologists who may be willing to see patients with thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer. This list is not inclusive, and does not constitute a selective endorsement of specific endocrinologists, rather it is simply meant to provide options. Additional sources of physician specialist information may include the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario or the Ontario Medical Association, or the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, or Thyroid Canada Canada. In addition to the University of Toronto affiliated endocrinologists listed below, LMC Endocrinology clinics are located at multiple regions in southern Ontario and the greater Toronto area, with multiple LMC endocrinologists who may see patients with thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer. Our office will facilitate referral of existing patients to a new endocrinologist. Patients are no doubt aware that not every endocrinologist will accept new referrals. Despite our best efforts, we may not be able to obtain the precise requested new clinic location and/or specialist in every instance, due to the imbalance between patient numbers and specialists willing to see new thyroid patients.

Physician                          Phone                          Fax                   Clinic Location

      Dr. Taryn Becker                  416-323-6013                416-323-6534                   Women's College

      Dr. R. Briones-Urbina           416-323-6088                416-323-6093                   Women's College

      Dr. Jeremy Gilbert               416-480-6717                 416-480-4744                   Sunnybrook

      Dr. C. Kelly                        416-323-7510                 416-323-6360                   Women's College

      Dr. J. Lowe                        416-480-6948                  416-480-4250                  Sunnybrook

      Dr. A. Sawka                      416-340-3678                 416-340-3314                   UHN-TGH

      Dr. Phillip Segal                  416-340-4800 x:5075       416-340-3314                  UHN&Mt. Sinai

      Dr. Robert Silver                   416-603-6453                416-603-7378                   UHN-TWH

      Dr. Jay Silverberg                416-480-4761                 416-480-5258                   Sunnybrook

      Dr. Paul Walfish                  416-586-4437                  416-586-8861                  Mt. Sinai

        Dr. A. Zahedi                       416-495-1830                  416-495-1389                 Women's College

  

How will my new doctor obtain my medical records?

Patients may request transfer of their medical information to a new physician in several ways. For example, they may sign a consent form provided to them by their new specialist requesting transfer of medical records to a new medical office/physician. Alternatively, a medical records transfer request form can be obtained from Dr. Drucker's office. All medical record transfer requests must be made in writing and include a signed consent form with specific transfer instructions. Patients are reminded that the vast majority of recent medical information, including letters, blood work, and radiology reports, may also accessible electronically by select health care providers through the UHN electronic medical record. Patients may contact UHN directly to request transfer of their clinic notes, pathology reports, and laboratory and radiology reports to another physician. UHN has a standard Fee Schedule for Release or Transfer of Medical Information. Please note that under dictums of current Canadian law, Dr. Drucker must retain the original copy of your current medical record/office chart.

What if I have a scheduled appointment coming up with Dr. Drucker?

All scheduled appointments and clinics for 2010 are still valid. No further clinics will be scheduled effective January 1 2011. Given the finite number of clinics scheduled during the balance of 2010, we may not be able to accommodate new requests for additional appointments in 2010.

Dr. Drucker's research and clinical administrative office is located at Mt. Sinai Hospital. The office phone number is 416-361-2661. The  office fax number is 416-361-2669. Patients are seen on the 12th Floor of the Norman Urquhart Building, now known as 12 North, at Toronto General Hospital. The clinic is accessible from either the University Avenue entrance at 585 University Avenue,. or via the Elizabeth street entrance. The clinic can be reached by taking the Eaton Wing elevators to the 12th floor and walking West towards the new building, or by taking the West Elevators in the New building to the 12th floor. A PDF MAP is available for you to print that contains this information. The mailing address for all office correspondence is Dr. Drucker Mt. Sinai Hospital 600 University Ave TCP5-1004, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5
The patient registration centre for obtaining a hospital card, and the test centre for blood work remain in the same location, on the Ground Floor of the Eaton Wing at the Toronto General Hospital.

The information in this Website is directed at Canadian patients and is not intended to solicit business from or provide advice to patients in foreign countries. Dr. Drucker currently sees patients at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, on the 12th floor of the Norman Urquhart Building, 200 Elizabeth street.  The majority of Dr. Drucker's clinics are held on Thursdays.  As Dr. Drucker only sees patients one day a week, we currently only see our existing patients and we are no longer accepting new patient referrals. Dr. Drucker's executive assistant, Donna Doherty, may be reached at 416-361-2661. It is not always possible to reach Donna by phone, however an automated voice mail service for leaving messages is always available. All patients are requested to bring all their prescription and non-prescription medications or a list of these medications to each visit. Patients are required to obtain a University Health Networks Hospital card in the Patient Management Center on the ground floor of the Eaton Wing prior to being seen in the clinic on the 12th floor of the Norman Urquhart Building. As there may be a small wait, patients are advised to obtain their hospital card at least 20 minutes prior to their appointment with Dr. Drucker. The following guidelines provide information about patient-related services provided by Dr. Drucker's office. As there is always a waiting list for appointments, patients who fail to show up for a previously scheduled appointment without notifying the office 24 hrs in advance will be charged a rebooking fee before another appointment can be obtained. Repeated failure to show up for scheduled appointments commonly results in reassignment of patient care.

FEES FOR SERVICES and BLOCK FEES

Most of your medical needs are covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (O.H.I.P.). But there are some services that are not covered. You can be charged for these services one by one, or you can be charged a block fee which would cover all the services that are not paid by O.H.I.P. for periods of time not less than three months or more than 12 months. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has set out rules which doctors must follow if they wish to charge block fees. Here they are:

  1. Your doctor cannot charge you a block fee for a period of less than 3 months or more than 12 months.
  2. The bill for the block fee must list in writing each of the services that is covered by the fee. You have the right to ask your doctor about any charge you don't understand.
  3. You must be told how much each service would cost if you paid for it by itself.
  4. You do not have to pay the block fee. You are allowed to pay for each service one by one.
  5. Your doctor cannot threaten to stop seeing you if you do not wish to pay a block fee.
  6. Before you are charged a block fee, the doctor must: a) give you a copy of these rules, and b) ask you if you agree to  pay a block fee.
  7. Your doctor cannot charge you a fee for "being available" in advance (for example, being available to take calls from patients)
FEES FOR SERVICES NOT COVERED BY O.H.I.P.

You have the option of paying for each service one by one:

Or you can pay an annual block fee of : $100.00

(This covers all of the above services for a period of one year except for completion of medical-legal forms)

When and how should I pay for services not covered by O.H.I.P.?

The above fees are effective January 1, 2001. Call our office to arrange for payment before requesting any of the above services. You can pay the fee by: 1) telephone using your Visa credit card, 2) when you come in for your appointment, or 3) you can send a cheque made out to TGH Department of Medicine which should be mailed to Dr. Drucker's office. Do not mail cash. Receipts will not be issued unless requested. If none of the above services and fees apply to your own circumstances, no payment is required.

Why is Dr. Drucker charging these fees?

The doctor's practice has grown considerably over the last few years and an increasing amount of time is being spent on providing administrative services not covered by O.H.I.P. It is no longer feasible to provide these services for our patients free of charge. For example, adjustment and monitoring of thyroid status may require mailing of blood test requisitions, reviewing test results and comparing new results with previous results in the chart, discussing the need for a different dose of medication with the patient, calling in a prescription, ordering a repeat set of blood tests several weeks or months later, and recording all relevant changes and test results in the medical chart. None of these activities are reimbursed, yet take considerable time, especially if they are done for 10-20  different patients each day.

Each time a prescription renewal is requested, the following events occur. First the patients chart, medication profile and clinical status is reviewed. The most recent blood test results are then reviewed, interpreted and an assessment of whether the prescription renewal is indicated, or whether the dose needs to be changed or reassessed takes place. Any renewal and/or change in medication must also be noted in the medical record.

These activities clearly constitute ongoing medical care, and require considerable time and effort and expense to the Doctors office, yet are not reimbursed by O.H.I.P. Nevertheless, many otherwise healthy patients are quite content to have their medication monitored and adjusted as described above without a visit to the office each and every time a change is made to their thyroid management. Although it is acknowledged that the individual patient may find these fees a nuisance and irritant, it must be remembered that Dr. Drucker's office is responsible for the medical care of several thousand patients. It is simply not possible, within the existing fee schedule that reimburses physicians only when a patient appears in the office, to provide the above services to dozens of patients daily on a non-reimbursed basis. Patients with unique individual circumstances are welcome to discuss the fees with our office.

If I pay the fee, can I get medical advice by phone or e-mail instead of making an appointment to see the doctor?

 In the majority of situations it is not appropriate to give medical advice without seeing a patient in person for a review of individual symptoms and/or physical examination. Your doctor will decide if the situation requires an appointment or not. We recommend reviewing this Website for information about thyroid and thyroid-related disorders. This site also contains answers to commonly asked questions about thyroid diseases.

There is no charge for checking up on your test results by phone. If you have a blood test or radiology study such as an ultrasound and/or a biopsy, we suggest checking with our office about one to two weeks later to make sure that the test was done, and that we have received the result. Please remember that it may take several additional days to receive test results if they are not done at the University Health Network.