MCI The Doctor’s Office

I called 5 times for blood test results that should have come back that day. Finally, after no answer decided to go by the clinic. 1 person in the waiting room, and receptionists were chatting away and suddenly the doctor had a few minutes to see me. Could barely understand what the doctor way saying. Didn’t feel leaving good. Won’t return.

Not discounting issues others have had with this clinic, but it has served me well when I needed to see a doctor.
Apparently I have the bad luck of getting sick on statutory holidays, when my doctor’s office and most others are closed. But this place seems to be open close to 365 days a year.
(They post holiday hours for all their clinics here:
— this location tends to be open from 11 – 5 on holidays)
It’s located underground in the west end of the Atrium on Bay — just off of the Bay/​Dundas intersection.
The receptionist was very lovely. It tends to be busy, but wait times seemed understandable (there was only one doctor working on the holiday).
No, this wouldn’t be my first choice of clinic, but I can’t complain.
Bonus: the clinic has a lab on site so they were able to run tests right away.
AND there’s a Rexall pharmacy a few steps away (inside the Atrium, towards the subway station) for prescriptions.

Showing some love for Dr. Pandey. She’s was just assigned to be my new doctor and I am really happy with her. She’s quick, on time and very personable.

This review is more about the nurse than about the doctors. Yes, the doctors are trying to get through as many patients as possible and don’t care about what you’d like to tell them (I’ve almost seen all of them, Dr. Pandey is probably the only exception, but her nurse is the worst.
For once, I was trying to reach Dr. Pandey, and was told there’s only one nurse dealing with requests for her. First time they transferred me I waited for 10 minutes, the nurse didn’t pick up. Second time the nurse picked up and hanged up immediately. Third time she didn’t pick up, and last time she picked up, asked me a question, and cut the line even before I finished. I spent a full hour trying to get through but couldn’t.
Yes it is that bad.

My complaint is with the administrative staff rather than the doctor as I didn’t even get to see a doctor! I came here with an appointment to see one of the doctors (referral) hoping to have her as my family doctor. Made my appointment 2 weeks in advance, and when I got there, I was only to find out the admin staff who took my call failed to book it to their system. In return, there was no way I could see the doctor on the day of. She said there was nothing they could do to schedule me in, without considering someone may have gone through hassle to take hours off their work in order to be there. Your office charge people for cancellation of appointment with less than 24 hour notice; what about this? How do you punish yourself or compensate your client for missing clients appointment? See this is how «fair» it is.

Won’t even see people when you are ill waste of time coming down here. Got out of work early rushed down and arrived within their opening times to be told they had enough patients for the day.
:(

I’ve been to better walk-​in clinics. This clinic runs more like a business then a doctor’s office. One good aspect is that the reception are professionally polite, only they lack true diversity. Over the past 2 years i’ve had to frequently visit the clinic, and i’ve never seen a man at reception. This is the only walk-​in clinic where i’ve noticed this. I’ve HAD to use this clinic because of location, also because it’s open later then most (one of the upsides of it being run mostly for profit).
The doctors are mediocre, I’ve never had one of them give a helpful suggestion or tell me something I didn’t already know. But they do order tests, they’re more like middlemen then anything.
I believe this clinic’s downtown location is partly responsible for it’s quantitative rather then qualitative service. I would only go there for convenience, not good health care.
Also, twice a doctor has enforced his political values on me which is beyond inappropriate instead of simply focusing on my health. I can’t wait to move.

It’s usually a long wait (20 to 40 wait) but all the doctors are really nice. Very informative and patience. Never had a problem

Dr. Ayman Al-​Arabi Is the most unprofessional physician I ever came across. A «get out of here» attitude combined with bad manners is what to expect. He interrupted me constantly and wouldn’t let me explain what the problem was. I felt hopeless and confused. Wonder how he is licensed. You don’t really have to care about your patients Dr. Ayman Al-​Arabi, you can learn how to fake it.

I waited 30 – 40 mins to see a doctor to get a 2^nd opinion on birth control options as my family doctor hasn’t given me much guidance and is hard to see in general. Because I used to get migraines, I have to be cautious about which one I take. At first the doctor at the clinic was really polite and helpful but once she found out I had a family doctor she didn’t have the time of day for me. She said my own doctor would have a record on my migraines (which she doesn’t, any comments I made on migraines today were the same as the one I had made in person to my family doctor, who I have had less than a year). She shut my file and walked out of the room.
Why am I being punished for this? My only motive is to make the right choice, and the more informed I am, the better as I haven’t had a lot of luck so far. If she had recommended something that worked, I could easily continue going to her for follow ups.
When it comes one’s health and body, we should have this option! I’m not impressed.

Service is very good. I have no complaints. I come here because my family doctor is awful. I seem to get sick on holidays. Thank God this place open on Sundays and on holidays. Office hours open usually @ 8am on weekdays. Which is good because I came here a few times before work. Yes, the waiting time can be long sometimes. But I am patience.
Rexall Pharmacy very nearby and also a food court.

My doctor moved to this office. Their automated phone system is an insult to patients. Guaranteed to piss you off before you even get there. It’s a basement. Make no wonder the reception staff look so unhappy! I’m looking into switching doctors.

Everyone hates walk-​in clinics so good reviews are hard to come by. Fact of the matter is that it’s as good as any I have been too. I will definitely go there again.

I don’t understand why people complain about the fellow patients that bother them. That is the general public and has nothing to do with the clinic.
With that out of the way I’d like to say that this is the only clinic myself and a few of my friends use. I have never had any issues with the reception staff and the doctors have never felt too rushed to ask questions. Now, they won’t sit there and wait for you to do so but if you take the initiative I have never had a problem.
Also, wait times. If you avoid the obvious busy times (like 5pm) the wait is usually about an hour, give or take 15min. For medical service anywhere this is pretty speedy. I would go to a hospital for anything serious but for things like ear and eye infections and other more minor things this place is an excellent choice.

Never had any problems here — I’m not sure why people complain about the wait times– it’s a downtown walk in clinic.
If I’m ill in the afternoon, I just suffer through wake up early the next day and make sure I’m there as soon as the doors open the next day.
I like the newer number system, I prefer to maintain my privacy in the waiting room.
The Dr. I usually get isn’t very thorough with patient history info, but is knowledgeable when you present him with your symptoms.
I like that you can get blood tests on site and the staff have always been friendly and professional.

Why I keep coming back here I cannot fathom. I have had the worst luck with this clinic just in this month alone. I left one sample on July 4^th, didn’t get a call back until July 15^th. Left another sample, no call back after 8 days so I went back on the 23^rd and refused to leave until they could tell me what the test results were. Left another sample, called this morning refusing to get off the line until I got some sort of response. Yes, I have another UTI (this is the 3^rd in one month) but the test results are not fully in. I was stunned — today is the 27^th, that is 4 days.
Saw a Doctor Goldhar (don’t see him, he’s the wimpiest doctor ever, preferring to give low-​grade medications before actually giving something effective) who prescribed for me Cipro. I asked about an IV antibiotic called Gentimycin, which can be used as a bladder-​flush. Oh no I don’t feel comfortable prescribing that, he says. My chart indicates that i have used it before, at home. so I am responsible enough to use the blasted drug.
The doctors at «The Doctor’s Office» are hit & miss. Some are reasonable and others you can easily understand why they do not have their own practices — they would scare off too many patients to turn a decent income. When confronted by a chronic patient who knows her medical history better than a GP it would behoove that GP to actually listen to the patient than to try and talk over her.
I regret going here. I’ll probably complain to some authority, and just take my «business» elsewhere like The Albany.

I rarely go to walk in clinics but since my family doctor retired I don’t have many choices. I had a bad cavity that got infected and finally I couldn’t take the pain anymore so I went to this clinic. I went in knowing that there would be a long wait and over-​worked doctor’s and staff. The one thing that made the experience bearable was the receptionist that helped me actually seemed empathetic. When I told her that I had a horrible toothache she looked at me with concern and said something like «tooth pain is awful» and explained the approximate waiting time. I think her name was Svetla?
As for the doctor, I don’t think he spent more than 30 seconds with me before prescribing antibiotics and telling me to go to the dentist.
Thanks Doc!

There’s not much to report when it comes to socialized medicine. The wait times are long, the décor is usually puke-​y, and the milieu thoroughly bureaucratic. After being handed a «32» on a little square piece of paper (I can memorize two digits, but thanks) I settled into my favourite walk-​in clinic pass-​time: the waiting game. I whipped out my iPhone, and numbed my brain with apps.
My waiting experience wasn’t too interesting. One woman who didn’t see the «no cellphones» sign gabbed away besides me. Some choice quotes from her bizarre convo:
«We literally spent an hour talking about cats.»
«Who died? (long pause) Me?»
«Yes, heels. Like Sex and the City. But sexier.»
One rousing hour later, my number was called. Another four-​minute wait in the little room, and I got to see the doctor. He told me that I had a cold and to f – k right off. Not in those words exactly, but that was the gist of it. Thanks doc. This place also has a family clinic where you can make a appointments and a laser clinic where you can, I dunno, get zapped or something. Open until 8pm.
Obligatory Title Pun: This place is SICK!
Menu Readability: That number 32 was pretty sweet.
Need to mention: It gets crazy busy at about 5pm. Luckily I showed up before that so I only had to wait a whole flipping hour.
What this place teaches me about myself: Patience is a virtue, but you don’t need it with a smartphone!

Okay, for those who want a quick review. Do not go to this place, do not waste your time, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
Let’s start from the beginning, (I like to tell stories with my reviews, can you tell yet?) It was my birthday this past weekend and I had gone to New York City to celebrate. On Sunday, we drove to Montauk. While I was on the beach there was a ridiculous wind that was funneling into my ears. By the night, I was a wreck. I knew it was just a cold, and when I woke up ten times worse the next morning, it was a confirmation. The final 5 hours of our drive back to Toronto were complete torture. For the last 30 minutes, I finally drove and it figures that in that time I got pulled over and got two tickets. Which is a rant for another time, so I’ll digress. Let’s keep in mind that as I’m getting sick it’s the whole outbreak of the swine flu and every person I’ve ever met seems to be bringing up how all my symptoms are conveniently similar.
After finally getting home and into my own bed, I just passed out. But waking up, I couldn’t imagine feeling worse than I already had. And because I’m such a child when I’m sick and with all the thoughts of this swine flu that I really didn’t know much about besides people deeming it a sars sort of epidemic, I called my mom in tears. Again, I’m without a doubt the biggest wuss when it comes to being physically ill. So in no time, she was there and I was trying to research clinics that would be open around 6:30. Finally I found this place that was open until 8, perfect. And I’d heard from a friend who had been to this clinic before and swore by it. By the time we got there and paid for parking we went to the clinic only to find that they were «closing early due to the high number of patients.» I lose my mind because at this point my only other option is the hospital and unfortunately my health card had expired the DAY BEFORE. So who knows how much that would cost me. But my mom is a regular spicy latina and called them immediately to complain about how she is a tourist in Toronto and doesn’t know where else to go and technically they are still open. So eventually a nurse comes to finally open the door and lets us in.
The wait is awful. Just to get to talk to the receptionist took well over half an hour. While talking to her, I told her that my health card expired the day before, but according to her, that wasn’t a problem and I just needed to sign a release and go to the ServiceOntario office as soon as I could and bring them back my temporary health release. Awesome, so I don’t have to pay anything. After about another hour I finally got into the doctor. At this point, it’s 7:43 and I’m the very last patient. So he has more than enough time to listen to all of my symptoms. I get through about three of the things I’m feeling and he’s checking my throat, ears and eyes. I’ve got a sinus infection. But what about my headache? Oh just take some tylenol. And my nausea? No response. Was he even listening? Probably not. But he did make sure to ask if I was a smoker, not once but twice. Which, both times I lied because let’s remember my spicy latina mother is still in the room with us. I get a prescription and he leaves. I look at my watch. 7:47. After well over an hour and a half wait, I see the doctor for all of 4 minutes. And he didn’t even listen to me in those four minutes.
Now I didn’t have the swine flu, I’m perfectly healthy now. But it would have been nice to have a doctor who listened to everything I had to say before prematurely diagnosing me. I kind of wish I had the flu so I could come back and cough all over him. I’m that kind of girl.
My frustration with the place didn’t end there, though. The next morning, I take the day off work because I still feel like shit and getting out of bed is a feat, but that doesn’t stop The Doctor’s Office from calling me and telling me that my health card is expired. Dear bitchy receptionist, I’m very aware of that fact and I told your other shit receptionist the same thing yesterday. «Well you have to go fix this problem now, OHIP will not be paying us for you visit so either you go deal with your expired card or you have to come here and pay us $ 75.» Check my file, I’m seriously sick and the last thing I have energy for is going to ServiceOntario and fixing a mess that is entirely your receptionist’s fault. «Well, we’ll be calling you tomorrow and every day until this is rectified» REALLY? You’re going to harass me until I’m well enough to give you 75 measly dollars?
This place is full of people who could care less about taking care of those who are sick. It’s an office full of people who got a job in the health industry because it’s the only industry with reliable jobs right now. It’s a cash grab and if you want a doctor that actually gives a shit, don’t go here. But I’m told there aren’t any doctors left that actually give a shit. If I’m wrong, let me know. I’m desperate for some health help.