Montreal Medisys Review

[acidrain 325]

I completed my medical exam in Montreal and thought I would add another review. Being in Montreal has been a challenge as many people have a hard time speaking English. Perhaps I am the only person who finds the irony in having to travel to Quebec for a US immigrant visa. When staying in Downtown Montreal you are within walking distance everywhere. 

 

I arrived a half hour early and it was easy to find as I had google earthed prior. My 5 year old and I went up to the 22nd floor. As soon as we entered the office I was overwhelmed by the volume of people. I would prepare yourself if you don't like crowds. I checked in at reception and she asked for: 5 passport photos, vaccination records, passports, letter confirming consulate appointment. She gave me forms to fill out which included the intended US address. The questionnaire asks things like if you have been hospitalized, blood disorders, drug addiction, mental health history, etc. I filled everything out and my son had to go to the bathroom. I needed to go but the receptionist said I could not do my urine test as it had to be supervised by a nurse. I asked how long it would be and she said she had no idea. 

 

We sat down and my name got called pretty quick to do the chest x-ray. The lady was really nice especially considering my son didn't want to leave the toys. I got undressed from the waste up and put a gown on. There were a total of 3 people doing this test at the same time. There were change rooms side by side which me (female), another female and a male all got undressed. I have to admit I was surprised they would do the exam with mixed genders. The guy who was there looked like he could be fun and I could've cared less if he got a peek. But not everyone would be thrilled about that. They did my x-ray first which I appreciated as my son was on the verge of a meltdown. They gave him two candy canes for being good. I wished the female and male good luck as I left.

 

We sat down again and it was around a half an hour before the doctor came out. My son had a tantrum and I was embarrassed. The waiting area had turned into a circus with at least a half dozen kids running wild. The area feels small when there are so many people. The office is extremely busy and it's easy to not hear your name. They should consider investing in an intercom. I was surprised by how many more men there were than women. The view of Montreal was great and there is a play area for young children. The doctor brought me into her office and she was very genuine. She was thorough and went through our medical history. My son and I completed our physical exams. I took everything off except my bra and underwear.

 

The wait felt longer when we got to the vaccination part. It must have been 2 hours after we got there. By then the urge to pee was so bad it was hard to think of anything else. I got brought in by two women to do the physical exam/vaccinations. I explained how desperate I was to use the restroom. One of the girls got me a cup right away and the receptionist was correct someone must stand outside the door. After I was done I handed her my sample. I did an eye test both with and without glasses. They took weight/height measurements along with blood pressure. They went through my vaccine history and I hadn't had a TDAP shot in over 20 years. It was $40 and my son's flu shot was $25. They took blood from me. They took my word I had my flu shot and I brought blood test results to prove I had chicken pox.

 

We went back to the waiting area where we were told to wait at least 15 minutes after our vaccines. At this point it had been over 3 hours and my son was really melting down. The receptionist saw my desperation and rang the bill for myself and my young child. The bill after taxes came to $747. She said the results should be ready Friday (today is Tues) which was sooner than what was said when I called (he said 4 days). They said if there is any type of issue they would call the number you put on the form. I felt everyone who worked there was very friendly. It is a much higher volume medical service lab than I expected. Everything is done in office so you don't have to go anywhere. After we were finished we walked over to Eaton Center and had supper. 

[NikLR 13,220]

You should have gotten the shots from your local health unit for free!!

 

Thank you for the review!

[acidrain 325]

Good point. I could've saved myself some $ by getting the shots done ahead of time. They sure make it convenient though and do it right on the spot.

[NikLR 13,220]

Yup.  I had the MMR and Tdap done at the local health clinic after i had my GP run titre tests for free.  Because of my age (36), only 1 MMR was given when I was a child, so I was susceptible to mumps or measles (I forget which.. but i think measles).  I'm glad I had the updated vaccine!  But you had to do a lot less work by doing it all at once.

[jle2234 68]

Thanks for the review!

 

I was surprised by how much your experience differed from mine even though I had my exam done at the same place less than six months ago. For instance, no one supervised my urine test and it sounds like I had more privacy for my TB test. I wonder if it's new procedures or if the process differs depending on who is working that day.

[acidrain 325]

16 minutes ago, jle2234 said:

Thanks for the review!

 

I was surprised by how much your experience differed from mine even though I had my exam done at the same place less than six months ago. For instance, no one supervised my urine test and it sounds like I had more privacy for my TB test. I wonder if it's new procedures or if the process differs depending on who is working that day.

I asked if she could just give me the cup and bring it back. The receptionist said no. The lab tech watched as I went into the bathroom and said she would stand on the other side of the door once I flushed. I guess I could've gotten my son to do it or gotten a sample some other way. I had no issue with doing that but making someone wait 2 hours was annoying (especially with a $747 bill). When I googled Medisys someone else had even a worse experience. 

 

I couldn't believe how busy it was. I got the feeling a lot of what they do is volume driven. Not sure how busy it was for you. It was so loud I could barely think filling out the forms. There was hardly anywhere to sit. The time of day might matter. I requested an appointment in the PM. I think the earlier you go the less chaotic.

[Ahoy01 31]

Hey Acidrain,

 

Thank you for this review. Definitely would not have expect it to be as you described. I thought it would more quite as this not a general walkin clinic. So thank you for giving all of us a heads up.

[acidrain 325]

8 minutes ago, Eli01 said:

Hey Acidrain,

 

Thank you for this review. Definitely would not have expect it to be as you described. I thought it would more quite as this not a general walkin clinic. So thank you for giving all of us a heads up.

All of the staff were really nice and professional. I wasn't expecting the volume of people. There were at least 30 people in the waiting area with heavy rotation (people coming and going). I didn't feel "walked through" the process. There were 3 separate exams (with different staff) and was told to go back to the waiting area after each step. I just think there are too many people for individualized service. I don't regret having our medicals done in Montreal as logistically it was a lot easier. Having flown from west to east I opted for an afternoon appointment cause of the time change. If people can swing first thing in the morning it might be better.

[acidrain 325]

I wanted to follow up to say how long it took to get our medical exams back. We finished our exams at the end of the business day Tuesday.

 

My son (under 14) exam was ready first thing Thursday morning.

 

My exam is ready to be picked up first thing Friday morning. 

 

When I had initially called to book they could only 100% guarantee my results would be ready first thing Monday. Good job Medisys 

[DeepakChani 738]

On 2/8/2018 at 4:42 PM, acidrain said:

I wanted to follow up to say how long it took to get our medical exams back. We finished our exams at the end of the business day Tuesday.

 

My son (under 14) exam was ready first thing Thursday morning.

 

My exam is ready to be picked up first thing Friday morning. 

 

When I had initially called to book they could only 100% guarantee my results would be ready first thing Monday. Good job Medisys 

Questions:

1) Did you book your consulate interview before scheduling the medical ?

 

2) When you called Medisys to schedule the medical, did they ask you when your consulate interview date is?

 

3) Do they make sure there is enough time to do the medical and get results back before the consulate interview? 

 

I am afraid if the the medical results are not ready by the time of the consulate interview.

[acidrain 325]

2 minutes ago, DeepakChani said:

Questions:

1) Did you book your consulate interview before scheduling the medical ?

 

2) When you called Medisys to schedule the medical, did they ask you when your consulate interview date is?

 

3) Do they make sure there is enough time to do the medical and get results back before the consulate interview? 

 

I am afraid if the the medical results are not ready by the time of the consulate interview.

1. Yes, my interview was scheduled before I called Medisys as they usually do not allow you to book the medical until then

2. Yes, they asked when my interview was

3. I spoke with Medisys and we both determined how much time was needed to book travel time. They guarantee 4 business days for the results. Both my results and my son's were completed faster than what they guaranteed.

[nsab 0]

Hi,

 

How long did it take form your document approval to get an interview date? Immigrant Visa at Montreal Consulate?

 

Thanks,

[acidrain 325]

23 hours ago, nsab said:

Hi,

 

How long did it take form your document approval to get an interview date? Immigrant Visa at Montreal Consulate?

 

Thanks,

It took exactly one month after case was complete at NVC before my interview was scheduled. At Montreal the average to the actual interview is usually around 52 days after case is complete at NVC.

[nsab 0]

On 07/07/2018 at 11:06 AM, acidrain said:

It took exactly one month after case was complete at NVC before my interview was scheduled. At Montreal the average to the actual interview is usually around 52 days after case is complete at NVC.

Great! thanks for your reply!

[skyzee 182]

Thought I'd just add my review here instead of creating a new thread for the same thing. I also had my medical done in Montreal at Horizon Occupational Medical Solution  (new name for Medisys) given I was flying straight from the US and therefore had no option to do it in Vancouver or Toronto.

 

My appointment was on Nov 22, 2018, but they changed the appointment time on me 2 weeks before I arrived. Originally, I was booked for 1:30pm, but was moved to 11:39am (yes, you read that right). For me, it wasn't a big deal since my wife and I flew in the day before, but you might want to watch out for it. When I called to confirm the appointment, the gentleman answering the phone didn't seem to know why my appointment time had been changed on me if I hadn't requested it. He seemed like he was willing to look into getting the original appointment time back for me, but I told him I would just show up earlier. I figured out the probable reason why they did it though - at 1:30pm, the office cleared out SIGNIFICANTLY. Like acidrain mentioned, it was a complete zoo in there when we got there and remained that way for the majority of our visit. The office itself is pretty comfortable in terms of seating and boy do they need it. Our whole appointment lasted about 3 hours - we were finally out at around 2:30pm. Prepare to wait... a lot. The people calling out your name are fairly soft spoken so needless to say, keep an ear out for it.

 

Like the rest of Montreal, if you speak English, it's likely that you'll receive second rate treatment, and the facility here is no exception. Language seems to be a big thing in the city here, and I don't fault them either since it's Quebec. The receptionists that I interacted with clearly preferred the French speakers, and there appears to be a passive aggressiveness in general, in the city, present towards English speakers.  For the most part though, my experience here was OK. The order of my appointment was as such: 

1) Fill out questionnaire, which takes about 10 minutes (do not cross out answers and rewrite, they make you refill out the entire form). If the lineup at the front is long enough, you may want to just consider standing in line while filling out the form since the lineup for me to hand in my questionnaire alone took 15 minutes in line. You'll need your intended US address, your current address in Canada, and also your passport # and MTL case number.

2) Wait 20 mins or so...

3) X-Ray with 2 other people. The lady who took us was extremely cranky and when she asked for my name, I gave it to her and she rudely demanded for my given name in which she actually meant my full name after a bit of back and forth. You take the X-ray  with the staff member and then hand in a slip of yellow paper near the receptionists at the front of the office.

4) Waited an hour...

5) Older doctor called my name and we went into his office. He was a very nice man and we even chatted about hockey for a bit given my health history. He asked me the same questions on the health questionnaire to confirm - routine health questions like do you have diabetes, cancer, depression, etc... After that, I was asked to undress and put on the hospital gown again so that he could perform a medical assessment. Also fairly routine health checkup, but I was taken by surprise when he started touching my breasts under the gown, to which there was no prewarning. I understand he was checking for lumps in the breasts, and all in all it was just a few seconds, but it would have been nice to get a heads up. The entire visit with the doctor probably didn't last more than 15 minutes in total. After that....

6) More waiting... probably another 45 minutes to an hour.

7) Woman calls me in for my blood test, vaccinations, weight, and height. My eyesight was also tested with her. There was some confusion about the flu shot paperwork since I had done my flu shot in the US, but we cleared it up in the office. I had brought all the proof of vaccines (from Vancouver Coastal Health Care as well as personal MD) I had retrieved from Vancouver including TDAP, MMR, and Varicella and there was no problem with it. I had called prior to the visit to ensure that I could take my flu shot in the US and that was fine as well. After all that, she handed me my urine container and asked me to go to the washroom to fill it up to 20ML (done unsupervised). Once done, more waiting...

8 ) Finally, about 15-20 minutes later, I was asked to go up to reception and pay the bill (costed $471 for base cost). I was told I would be emailed for when results would be ready for pickup (most likely this coming Tuesday), and I was free to leave. They also gave me option to pickup the report before my interview on Wednesday, since they open at 7:30am, but I'm not going to risk it.

 

All in all, minus the claustrophobic amounts of people in the office, it was fairly painless. I did get a huge bruise from my blood test since they used a weird vein to draw blood from, but the staff here were mostly professional and polite. The cost of the medical was high, but I suppose there's no choice but to pay it.