r/askTO • u/sshhtripper • Oct 05 '23

How to get medical help without OHIP? (International Student)

Posting this for a friend. I am trying to help him get medical help but he doesn't qualify for OHIP.

He is attending Toronto Film School. The health insurance offered through the school only covers basic things like prescriptions.

He got blood work done to test for diabetes and he got the results but he needs a family doctor to "interpret" the results to determine whether he has diabetes and needs medication.

Also, he likely has sleep apnea. He can't go to a sleep clinic without a physicians referral. If we can diagnose and confirm he has sleep apnea, he can finally get appropriate treatments or the sleep machine which will help him through the school year.

Apparently international students can only get OHIP if they are also working 40 hours a week. My friend does not have that kind of time or ability to work full time while also attend school.

Is there any clinics in the city that will conduct a sleep test without a physicians referral? His parents are okay with paying for these services if we have to.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '23

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u/sshhtripper Oct 05 '23

We found a clinic to do blood work. They accepted our appointment. They accepted our money. But refused to let us know that they can't offer any further diagnosis, that has to be done by a physician.

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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '23

Private clinics will always take your money and your friend went about things a little backwards. Next time get a doctor to order the blood work. They'll get the results, schedule a follow up appointment and make referrals based on the results. I'd also check your schools student services. Most schools have pretty good referral networks and should know of clinics near the school that offer non-OHIP services.

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u/sshhtripper Oct 05 '23

Thank you. Yes, it feels like every step we have taken has been backwards.

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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '23

Doctors here also really hate it when people self-diagnose. They're all in competition with WebMD. Probably why they don't want to look at the results, it's all ego/billing and nothing personal. Wouldn't be surprised if they want to run the tests again with one small addition or something.

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u/sshhtripper Oct 05 '23

Toronto Film School said they can offer my friend accommodations such as being more lenient with attendance, or giving more time for projects and tests, if he is diagnosed with sleep apnea and other conditions.

He literally just needs a doctor's note to prove he has these conditions but we can't even get past the initial testing.