Our clinic was founded in 2008, by Dr. Suzanne Gossier and Dr. Marcel Lavanchy. It has grown steadily since, to a peak of 7 physicians in the summer of 2023, providing comprehensive primary medical care, HIV care and PrEP, immunizations and travel advice to over 10,000 patients, mainly from West Kelowna, but going as far as Okanagan Falls in the South and Vernon in the North.
Hours: Dr. Blakemore: Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm (Not in clinic on Tuesdays; variable availability for telehealth on this day) Dr. Covaser: Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm (Not in clinic on Mondays; variable availability for telehealth on this day) Dr. Gossier: Monday-Friday 8:30am-4pm (Not in clinic on Wednesdays; variable availability for telehealth on this day) Dr. Lavanchy: Monday-Thursday 8:30am-5pm (Not in clinic on Fridays; variable availability for telehealth on this day) Dr. Sava: Monday-Thursday 8:30am-4:30pm (Not in clinic on Fridays; variable availability for telehealth on this day)
The clinic is currently NOT open on Saturdays. This is being re-evaluated and any changes to this status will be posted on this website.
We are NOT a walk-in-clinic. Appointments at our clinic are for registered patients only. New patients: please call to register; you will be asked to provide or update your demographic information.
Most appointments are standardized to 10 minutes. More time is reserved for special appointments: complete physical examination, complex care review, counselling, PAP smears etc. The duration of the visit depends in reality to the problems addressed. While we strive to stay on time, in order to respect the appointment times, the reality of our day-to-day practice may result in delays. We appreciate your understanding knowing that each of our patients receives the necessary care and attention for their presentation.
Online booking is available! We strongly encourage you to try this service, and hopefully make it your favourite way to book, as we believe it will enhance your ability to see your physician (in person or virtually) even when phone lines are congested due to heavy demand. We have upgraded this service to help you.
We believe that proper medicine requires a thorough in-person assessment. For selected cases and situations however, we are able to offer PHONE (Telemedicine) visits. The availability of these types of visits depends on each physician. In order to access videoconferencing we request you have an updated electronic communications agreement form signed. Please address these as soon as possible, to facilitate off-site communication.
Our clinic is a UBC School of Medicine accredited training facility. Some of the doctors in the clinic may work at times with medical trainees at various levels of training. They are usually either students, studying towards obtaining their medical degree (and they could be between their 1st and their last/4th year of studies), or resident doctors (most in Family Medicine, but some in other specialties) who are graduates of the medical school training further in order to become certified family physicians or other specialists (i.e. Psychiatry). We are grateful for our patients' participation in the development of the next generations of physicians.
Services not covered by MSP Many services that we provide are NOT covered by MSP and will be charged to the patient directly. They can be paid in cash, cheque, debit or credit card at the front desk. You can find the up-to-date information about these on our Uninsured Services page.
Travel Clinic Travel consults are privately paid (i.e. NOT covered by MSP). They can be paid in cash, cheque, debit or credit card at the front desk. Please visit our dedicated page for more details.
Please call to book your appointment, inquire about vaccine costs and bring your previous immunization records to your appointment.
Prescription refills Please note our clinic, in most cases, does not refill prescription following a simple phoned or faxed request. The act of refilling a prescription should follow a thorough reassessment of your condition that require treatment, general state of health and associated conditions, response to medications and possible side effects etc. At the minimum, this reassessment should be done by telehealth. We are aware however that exceptions may exist, so the phoned/faxed refill can only be provided under certain circumstances. Please book an appointment if you need medications refill. In most cases we can offer an appointment on the same week, and sometimes the same day when the request was made. However, one should not wait until the last tablet in the bottle to ask for a refill.
Controlled medications (e.g. opioids, benzodiazepines) Prescription of controlled medications including opioids (codeine, oxycodone, oxycontin, hydromorphone etc.), benzodiazepines (lorazepam, clonazepam etc.) and sleeping medications (zopiclone etc.) are coming under increased scrutiny and regulation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) due to the tragic spike in overdose deaths relating to these medications over the past years in British Columbia. In June 2016 the CPSBC issued (then updated in January 2019) a Professional Standard regarding the prescription of these medications (https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/pdf/PSG-Safe-Prescribing.pdf). All doctors practicing in British Columbia are bound by this Standard which ‘reflects relevant legal requirements and are enforceable under the Health Professions Act, RSBC 1996, c.183 (HPA) and College Bylaws under the HPA’. Refills for these medications must be made in person with your doctor as a reassessment of your pain and function is required on a regular basis (unless these medications are prescribed in the context of palliative care or cancer management). If you have any questions relating to changes in your medications or the new clinic policies please book an appointment to speak with your doctor.
Missed and cancelled appointments and late arrivals As a courtesy we do not charge for cancelled appointments. However, we would appreciate if you could call and let our staff know if you know that you are unable to make an appointment, even if it is the day of the appointment, so that another patient who may need to be seen can be fit into that appointment slot. We understand that circumstances can arise causing late arrivals and we do our best to accommodate. However, if you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you may be asked to wait or re-schedule your appointment. We would appreciate if you phone and let our staff know that you are running late.
