Medical with Dr. Zatzman

[ADW & JOP 146]

I want to update everyone with my experience having my medical with Dr. Ian Zatzman today. As soon as I found out my interview last week, I scheduled an appointment with his office. My appointment was scheduled for 1115, I arrived at the parking lot around 1045. They have their own parking lot, but I took one look and decided to park on the street. The office building is located in the suburbs so there is unlimited street parking available. I arrived at his second-floor office around 1055 and was told to sit in the relatively small waiting room and was called up at exactly 1115 by one of the office administrator.

 

They requested my passport (the website said photo ID, but I brought my passport anyway), my interview appointment letter from the NVC (e-mail from NVC) and my vaccination record. I gave them my vaccination records, but in the end, they only wanted this one (from Dr. Mascarenhas' website, which I had signed by my family physician last month) and didn't even look at my provincial records. They didn't care whether I had one or two MMR shots, they just took a photocopy of my most recent vaccination shots based on Dr. Mascarenhas' form. They did not request for any passport photos. It was explained to me that the Montreal consulate is moving towards a digital platform and uses a platform called "e-medical" and so they took a picture of me in the office and uploaded it onto their server. (Note: on their website, it says that this is only for people who are applying for CR1/IR1 visas. You may need to bring your passport photos if you are applying for other visas (ie K1 visa, etc)). Following this, I paid in cash (they accepted debit as well) and sat back down to wait for my appointment. Screening the room, there were two other patients before me waiting for their visa medicals.

 

I was called to see Dr. Zatzman around 1200. The medical took about 15 minutes, and as Dr. Zatzman describes it, it was the easiest part of the immigration process. He took a history (past medical history, medications, sexual history and substance use history), then performed a limited, non-invasive exam. He then went through my vaccination sheet ( just the one page from Dr. Mascarenhas' website). The whole process took about 8 minutes and we spent the rest of the time having an academic discussion on influenza and coronavirus.

 

Before I left, I asked Dr. Zatzman for his advice on how to speed up the lab/x-ray process. He advised me to submit my blood work requisition first, checked the monitor in the waiting room to see how long the wait time was, then submit my x-ray requisition if it was longer than 10 minutes.

 

As advised, I went to the Dynacare laboratory on the main floor and submitted my requisition at 1220. I saw that my wait time was approximately 30 minutes so I went to the X-ray Associates facility on the main floor and submitted my x-ray requisition. Both facilities take credit card (except AmEx). There was not a lot of people waiting for x-rays so I waited around and had my x-ray 15 minutes later. I had a single-view, PA x-ray, took a quick glimpse, and headed back to the Dynacare laboratory where I was called in shortly after to have blood drawn and to provide a urine sample. For those who are interested, the blood work was for syphilis and the urine was for chlamydia and gonorrhea. I was finished by 1305. Because I submitted both blood work and x-ray requisitions at around the same time, I was done before the two people before me.

 

Total time from appointment to completion: 1h50m. I was told that my results will typically take 5-8 business days, but they will call me as soon as my paperwork is completed.

 

Cost breakdown:

1. Medical with Dr. Zatzman: $260 CAD (paid in cash, also accepts debit card)
2. X-ray with X-ray Associates: $70 CAD (paid by credit card with no extra fees, also accepts cash and debit card)
3. Blood and urine test with Dynacare Laboratory: $30.34 CAD (paid by credit card with no extra fees, also accepts cash and debit card)

I will update this thread when I receive the call for the medical results.

 

Cheers

Edited February 19, 2020 by ADW & JOP

[ADW & JOP 146]

An update from my IV medical on Feb 19 with Dr. Zatzman. Today, I received a call from his office that my report is ready to be picked up. For those who are wondering, you can also get the results courier to you at an additional fee of 20 dollars. It took 7 days from the day I had my IV medical to obtain the results.

Overall, I am quite happy how efficient this part of the process went.

[Jay&Sid 211]

Thank you very much for sharing such a detailed review step by step. 

 

Its really very strange that we dont have any approved medical location in Alberta. One have to go all the way to BC/ON/QC for a medical exam. There is not even a 2nd option for IR/CR-1 interview. Its MTL only though we have one consulate in Calgary. I wish they have allowed other consulate to conduct spousal visa interview. 

[ADW & JOP 146]

9 minutes ago, Jay&Sid said:

Thank you very much for sharing such a detailed review step by step. 

 

Its really very strange that we dont have any approved medical location in Alberta. One have to go all the way to BC/ON/QC for a medical exam. There is not even a 2nd option for IR/CR-1 interview. Its MTL only though we have one consulate in Calgary. I wish they have allowed other consulate to conduct spousal visa interview. 

You should try to contact Medisys Corporate Health LP in Quebec. Other VJ users have been able to coordinate their medical around the same time as their interview. I think they guarantee a turnaround time of 5 business days so you can just do your medical and interview on the same trip to Montreal.

 

[Jay&Sid 211]

Thx. I will do.

 

40 minutes ago, ADW & JOP said:

You should try to contact Medisys Corporate Health LP in Quebec. Other VJ users have been able to coordinate their medical around the same time as their interview. I think they guarantee a turnaround time of 5 business days so you can just do your medical and interview on the same trip to Montreal.

 

 

[Lemonslice 4,841]

59 minutes ago, Jay&Sid said:

Thank you very much for sharing such a detailed review step by step. 

 

Its really very strange that we dont have any approved medical location in Alberta. One have to go all the way to BC/ON/QC for a medical exam. There is not even a 2nd option for IR/CR-1 interview. Its MTL only though we have one consulate in Calgary. I wish they have allowed other consulate to conduct spousal visa interview. 

Immigrant visas are usually available in only one location per country (and sometimes, only one per geographical area/many countries).  In the USA, some interviews are only available in LA or NYC - all other consulates, do not handle visa requests at all.  I think all governments have been trying to cut in their expenses 😕  

[realmadrid23 18]

Hi i have no vacinnation records. Can i have vacinnation done at dr zatman?

[Jay&Sid 211]

On 2/29/2020 at 6:36 PM, realmadrid23 said:

Hi i have no vacinnation records. Can i have vacinnation done at dr zatman?

I am sharing Paul& Mary post. 

 

" My wife had no records of her immunizations.   The panel physician gave her the 3 immunizations based on her age indicated by the CDC recommendations.   If your doctor does not have your records - don't worry.   Don't go get immunizations before either.   Just let the panel doctor do their job" 

[Lemonslice 4,841]

On 2/29/2020 at 8:36 PM, realmadrid23 said:

Hi i have no vacinnation records. Can i have vacinnation done at dr zatman?

Would probably be free with your family doctor.

[US-EH 43]

On 2/19/2020 at 1:22 PM, ADW & JOP said:

I want to update everyone with my experience having my medical with Dr. Ian Zatzman today. As soon as I found out my interview last week, I scheduled an appointment with his office. My appointment was scheduled for 1115, I arrived at the parking lot around 1045. They have their own parking lot, but I took one look and decided to park on the street. The office building is located in the suburbs so there is unlimited street parking available. I arrived at his second-floor office around 1055 and was told to sit in the relatively small waiting room and was called up at exactly 1115 by one of the office administrator.

 

They requested my passport (the website said photo ID, but I brought my passport anyway), my interview appointment letter from the NVC (e-mail from NVC) and my vaccination record. I gave them my vaccination records, but in the end, they only wanted this one (from Dr. Mascarenhas' website, which I had signed by my family physician last month) and didn't even look at my provincial records. They didn't care whether I had one or two MMR shots, they just took a photocopy of my most recent vaccination shots based on Dr. Mascarenhas' form. They did not request for any passport photos. It was explained to me that the Montreal consulate is moving towards a digital platform and uses a platform called "e-medical" and so they took a picture of me in the office and uploaded it onto their server. (Note: on their website, it says that this is only for people who are applying for CR1/IR1 visas. You may need to bring your passport photos if you are applying for other visas (ie K1 visa, etc)). Following this, I paid in cash (they accepted debit as well) and sat back down to wait for my appointment. Screening the room, there were two other patients before me waiting for their visa medicals.

 

I was called to see Dr. Zatzman around 1200. The medical took about 15 minutes, and as Dr. Zatzman describes it, it was the easiest part of the immigration process. He took a history (past medical history, medications, sexual history and substance use history), then performed a limited, non-invasive exam. He then went through my vaccination sheet ( just the one page from Dr. Mascarenhas' website). The whole process took about 8 minutes and we spent the rest of the time having an academic discussion on influenza and coronavirus.

 

Before I left, I asked Dr. Zatzman for his advice on how to speed up the lab/x-ray process. He advised me to submit my blood work requisition first, checked the monitor in the waiting room to see how long the wait time was, then submit my x-ray requisition if it was longer than 10 minutes.

 

As advised, I went to the Dynacare laboratory on the main floor and submitted my requisition at 1220. I saw that my wait time was approximately 30 minutes so I went to the X-ray Associates facility on the main floor and submitted my x-ray requisition. Both facilities take credit card (except AmEx). There was not a lot of people waiting for x-rays so I waited around and had my x-ray 15 minutes later. I had a single-view, PA x-ray, took a quick glimpse, and headed back to the Dynacare laboratory where I was called in shortly after to have blood drawn and to provide a urine sample. For those who are interested, the blood work was for syphilis and the urine was for chlamydia and gonorrhea. I was finished by 1305. Because I submitted both blood work and x-ray requisitions at around the same time, I was done before the two people before me.

 

Total time from appointment to completion: 1h50m. I was told that my results will typically take 5-8 business days, but they will call me as soon as my paperwork is completed.

 

Cost breakdown:

1. Medical with Dr. Zatzman: $260 CAD (paid in cash, also accepts debit card)
2. X-ray with X-ray Associates: $70 CAD (paid by credit card with no extra fees, also accepts cash and debit card)
3. Blood and urine test with Dynacare Laboratory: $30.34 CAD (paid by credit card with no extra fees, also accepts cash and debit card)

I will update this thread when I receive the call for the medical results.

 

Cheers

This is great information. Thank you for sharing. My husband's appt with him is on March 30th. Have you received your results yet? Just wondering how long it took to get the packet? 

[ADW & JOP 146]

On 2/29/2020 at 5:36 PM, realmadrid23 said:

Hi i have no vacinnation records. Can i have vacinnation done at dr zatman?

I don't know. I would call Dr. Zatzman's office to see if those services are available. The clinic itself includes other family physicians and Dr. Zatzman told me he use to be the head of family medicine at the nearby hospital. Can he do it? Sure. Does he do it? Call his office.

 

34 minutes ago, US-EH said:

This is great information. Thank you for sharing. My husband's appt with him is on March 30th. Have you received your results yet? Just wondering how long it took to get the packet? 

I had a follow-up post right after my initial post which outlines how soon it took to get my results. It took 7 days. I went to pick it up, but according to another VJ user who had it delivered by courier services, it took about 8 days to get to the Niagara region.

[ADW & JOP 146]

On 3/3/2020 at 9:56 PM, Jay&Sid said:

I am sharing Paul& Mary post. 

 

" My wife had no records of her immunizations.   The panel physician gave her the 3 immunizations based on her age indicated by the CDC recommendations.   If your doctor does not have your records - don't worry.   Don't go get immunizations before either.   Just let the panel doctor do their job" 

I'd be wary of this comment.

 

The other physician who does immigration visa medicals in the GTA does not provide vaccinations, as indicated on their website.

 

• Completed Vaccine Checklist for each applicant. Please print the vaccine checklist form (see below) for your age group only and have this form completed by your family doctor or walk in clinic. Vaccinations are mandatory and are required by the US Government. Vaccinations received outside Canada should be shown to the doctor completing the vaccine checklist. We DO NOT give vaccines in our office.

[Jay&Sid 211]

Thx for sharing this. I guess one should do it in advance.

 

Any idea which vaccines are recommended? 

[madiartzer 41]

I also had my medical done with him! He was awesome.

[realmadrid23 18]

Hi everyone, i went to travel clinic for vaccinations. They just gave me MMR. And put it on the card. For tetnus i had a booster last year, do i need it again?  The doctor's receptionist printed  a page saying that i got an ADACEL last year. It isnt signed. Can someone guide me on this?

And for chickenpox i had them when i was a kid. 

Somebody who has been through medical exam can guide me and tell me that this all works for medical exam immunizations? I have scheduled an appointment with Dr Ian Zatman.