Your questions, answered.

Yes. Under OHIP, seeing an orthopaedic surgeon requires a referral from a licensed physician or nurse practitioner — but it does not have to come from your own family doctor. Any licensed physician can issue it. If you don't have a doctor, we arrange a visit with one, virtually or in person, who can assess you and issue the referral if appropriate.

Yes — this is one of the most common situations we handle. Roughly 2.5 million Ontarians don't have a family doctor. You don't need one to work with us: we coordinate access to licensed physicians, both virtual and in person, who can see you quickly and issue a referral if appropriate. Not having a doctor is exactly the kind of roadblock this service exists to remove.

It varies enormously. As of 2025, the median wait from referral to a first orthopaedic consultation in Ontario is roughly 29 weeks — but individual surgeons range from a few weeks to over a year for the same type of injury. That variation is the single biggest lever in how quickly you're seen, and it's exactly what we track and navigate.

Wait-time figures are observations from published Ontario data at the time of writing, not a guarantee of any individual timeline.

Yes. Ontario publishes wait times by hospital and encourages patients to discuss faster options with their referring doctor — including travelling to a specialist with a shorter wait. Most people never check this data. We review it systematically, identify appropriate options for your specific injury, and present them so you and your referring physician can decide together.

Yes. You're entitled to seek a second opinion under OHIP with a new referral. We help coordinate it — identifying an appropriate specialist, preparing the referral package, and making sure your imaging and records reach them so the consultation is productive.

Orthopaedic Access is a private patient navigation service based in Toronto. We help people move through Ontario's orthopaedic system — coordinating referrals, imaging, and specialist connections — so they reach the right care faster and with less confusion. We are not a healthcare provider: we don't diagnose, treat, or give medical advice. All clinical decisions stay with you and your physicians. Our fees are paid by clients only; we never accept payment from surgeons, clinics, or imaging facilities, which keeps our guidance independent.

No — and this matters to us. We don't buy access, pay providers, or move anyone ahead in a queue. We work entirely within the public system: using publicly available wait-time data, properly prepared referrals, and diligent follow-up. Ontario itself publishes hospital wait times and encourages patients to consider faster sites. What we sell is the time, knowledge, and coordination most people don't have while they're injured — not preferential treatment.

No. Orthopaedic Access is not a healthcare provider and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every clinical decision — which specialist to see, whether to have surgery, what treatment is right — rests with you and your physicians. Our role is navigation and coordination: preparing materials, tracking referrals, and keeping the process moving.

Three flat-fee services, invoiced before service begins: Surgery Navigation ($799) — end-to-end coordination from intake through post-consultation follow-up, including surgeon matching, referral preparation, and direct office follow-up. Imaging Coordination ($350) — identifying and coordinating the fastest appropriate MRI, CT, or X-ray route. Fracture Clinic Access ($300) — rapid coordination to the right fracture clinic or specialist after an acute injury. No hidden fees, no hourly billing, and we never accept payment from healthcare providers.

Book a free 30-minute consultation through our website. We'll listen to your situation, explain how the service works, and outline the pathway that fits your circumstances. There's no obligation — if you choose to proceed, we send everything needed to get started the same day.

Wait times for the same scan vary widely between Ontario facilities — often by months. Ontario publishes this data publicly, and a requisition can be directed to a faster site. Most people don't know the variation exists or how to act on it. We identify the facilities with the shortest appropriate waits for your situation and coordinate the booking with your physician's requisition.

Yes — diagnostic imaging in Ontario requires a requisition from a licensed physician or nurse practitioner. If you don't have a doctor, the same answer applies as elsewhere on this page: we arrange a visit with a licensed physician who can assess you and issue the requisition if appropriate.

Private-pay MRI in the GTA typically runs from around $500 to over $1,000 per body region, and appointments are often available within days. Important context: under Ontario law, private-pay MRI applies in specific circumstances — such as third-party situations like workplace or motor vehicle claims, or services not insured by OHIP. Part of our imaging coordination is helping you understand which routes legitimately apply to your situation, including faster OHIP-covered options many patients don't know exist.

Normally, the ER refers you to a fracture clinic for follow-up — but many people leave with a splint and no clear next step, or a referral that goes unanswered. Fractures are time-sensitive, and waiting weeks for follow-up isn't just stressful; it can affect treatment options. We coordinate the referral, confirm the appointment directly with the clinic, and make sure your imaging is where it needs to be — typically within days.

Generally, no. Most Toronto fracture clinics require a referral from an emergency department, walk-in clinic, or physician — and they run at very high volume, with in-clinic waits that can stretch for hours. We handle the referral pathway and confirm your appointment, so you're not calling around or sitting in the wrong queue with a broken bone.

We begin coordinating the same day you engage us, and our goal on acute injuries is movement within days, not weeks — connecting you to the appropriate clinic or specialist, coordinating imaging, and confirming the referral was received. Timelines depend on clinic capacity and your specific injury, but speed is the entire point of this service.

We serve patients across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, including Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill. Consultations are virtual, so we can support patients throughout the region.

Your information is handled in accordance with PIPEDA and stored on encrypted, Canadian-hosted platforms. We share it only with your explicit written consent, and only with the providers involved in coordinating your care. Nothing is sold, shared for marketing, or stored outside Canada.