FAQ
Whether you're working out if this service is right for your situation, what it costs, what's in scope or what isn't — here's the long-form version. If your question isn't covered, get in touch and we'll work it out.
No. Whistler Acuity is a private in-home health assessment service. We are not a licensed BC ambulance or paramedic service, and we do not respond to 911 calls. If your situation is life-threatening, call 911 immediately.
Michael spent nine years as an Advanced Care Paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service in Brisbane, Australia. He does not hold a current BC Emergency Medical Assistant licence and does not practise as a paramedic in Canada — that title is reserved by provincial law. He operates here as a private health consultant.
No. Whistler Acuity is not a registered medical practice and Michael is not a physician. We provide a clinical impression — not a diagnosis — based on examination and experience. Formal diagnoses and prescription medication are reserved for licensed physicians.
We come to your accommodation, assess what's going on, provide first aid where it's needed, supply over-the-counter medication if appropriate, and tell you in plain language what we found and what to do next. Every visit includes written documentation suitable for travel insurance claims. See the services page for the full detail.
Call us, send a text, or use the booking form on the website. For non-emergencies, online booking with a return call within 15 minutes is usually the smoothest path. For anything more urgent, call directly.
Typically within 40 minutes of your call for central Whistler — Village, Upper Village, Creekside, Function Junction, Bayshores. Pemberton is around an hour with a small travel surcharge. We're a single-practitioner service, so on a busy weekend afternoon there may be a wait if we're already on a call — phone us and we'll give you an honest estimate.
Anywhere in Whistler — Whistler Village, Upper Village, Creekside, Bayshores, Function Junction, and the rest of the valley. Pemberton is covered with a $100 travel surcharge. Outside that range, please ask.
8 am to midnight, seven days a week. Late-night and overnight visits (midnight to 8 am) are taken case-by-case based on clinical severity — phone triage first.
Yes. If you know you'd like a visit at a specific time — a pre-trip check-in, an event you're concerned about, anything scheduled — just book online or call. Same-day and next-day bookings are normal.
A standard visit during the day (8 am – 8 pm) is $395. Evening visits (8 pm – midnight) are $525. Additional people at the same address are +$150 each. Full pricing including event medical and surcharges is on the services page.
We accept credit card, debit, e-transfer, and cash. Payment is taken at the time of service. We don't bill insurers directly.
In most cases, yes. Every visit includes a written assessment report and itemised invoice, formatted the way travel insurers expect to receive it. You pay at the visit and submit the paperwork for reimbursement. Some policies pre-authorise — check with your insurer if you're not sure.
No. Whistler Acuity is a private service and operates outside the publicly-funded healthcare system. We're a complement to that system, not a replacement.
Yes. Every visit comes with an itemised invoice. Whether your employer's benefits plan reimburses depends on the terms of that plan — we provide the paperwork; you submit it.
Cancellations before we've been dispatched are free. Once we're on the way to you, a $95 dispatch fee applies.
No. Prescription medication is reserved for licensed physicians. If your assessment suggests prescription medication is needed, we'll refer you to a walk-in clinic or the emergency department with a written summary of what we found.
Sutures are out of our scope. We can clean wounds, apply steri-strips (a butterfly-style closure that works well for many smaller cuts), and dress and bandage. For wounds that genuinely need stitching, we'll send you on with a written note and the wound stable for transport.
EpiPens (epinephrine auto-injectors) are prescription medication in Canada, so we don't carry them. If you have your own prescribed EpiPen and need help administering it in an emergency, we can support you with that while calling 911. For any anaphylactic emergency, call 911 immediately regardless.
Yes. An AED is part of every visit and every event standby. Defibrillation in a cardiac arrest is one of the most time-critical interventions there is, and we don't go anywhere without one.
We can produce a written assessment summary describing what was found and what was recommended. Whether that satisfies your employer's requirement for a "doctor's note" depends on their policy — most employers accept documentation from a qualified clinician, but some specifically require a physician's note. Ask first; we'll provide the documentation we can.
Imaging is clinic and hospital territory. If our assessment suggests imaging is needed — a suspected fracture, for example — we'll refer you to the appropriate place with a written summary of what we found and what we suspect, often calling ahead so they're expecting you.
For non-emergencies where you can't drive yourself and don't have someone available to drive you, we can offer transport in a private vehicle as a courtesy. For anything that could deteriorate during the journey, or any genuine emergency, we'll call 911 — that's what ambulances are for.
Yes. Respiratory illness is within scope. We come prepared with appropriate PPE and assess in your room, which means you don't have to expose other people in a waiting area. We don't run PCR tests on site, but we can advise on whether testing is worth pursuing and where to get it.
Memberships are designed for Whistler residents who want predictable annual access and priority booking. For visitors and one-off needs, pay-as-you-go is almost always the better fit — most travel insurance fully reimburses individual visits anyway. See the memberships page for full detail.
Yes. On-site medical cover for events, corporate ski days, weddings, and film productions. Four-hour and eight-hour blocks. See the services page or get in touch to discuss your specific event.
Yes. Paediatric assessment is part of our standard scope — childhood injuries, fevers, gastro, ear pain, and so on. A parent or legal guardian must be present and consenting throughout the visit.
Yes — we work with hotel concierges, property managers, and chalet companies. The simplest arrangement is a recommendation arrangement where you refer guests directly to us; we have a process for streamlined coordination including pre-arrival paperwork. Get in touch and we'll work out what suits your operation.