Frequently Asked Questions

You can book an appointment online, or by calling our reception during clinic working hours.

When should I arrive?

Please arrive at or before your scheduled appointment time and complete your check-in.

Even if the clinic is running late, you should still report around your scheduled appointment time. Please do not assume that you can arrive later because you have been informed of a delay.

For example, if your appointment is at 10:00 AM and you are told that the clinic is currently running 30 minutes late, you should still plan to arrive around 10:00 AM and complete your check-in. The reported delay is only an estimate and may change as consultations progress.

Will I be seen exactly at my appointment time?

Not necessarily. Your appointment time primarily determines your place in the consultation queue. If everything proceeds smoothly, you may be called around your appointment time.

However, each patient's problems are different. Some patients may require a longer examination, additional discussion, procedures, or special attention because they are children or elderly patients.

We do not rush consultations simply to maintain the scheduled time. Our priority is appropriate medical care and giving each patient adequate attention.

Therefore, there may be a waiting time even if you have an appointment. Occasionally, the delay may be significant, including more than an hour. We make every effort to keep delays to a minimum.

What if the clinic is running late?

If the clinic is running behind schedule, patients will generally continue to be seen in their appointment order.

If you call reception to ask about a delay, our receptionist can tell you the approximate current delay. However, being informed about a delay does not mean that you should arrive later than your appointment time, unless the clinic specifically asks you to do so.

What if I arrive late?

You should make every effort to arrive at your scheduled appointment time.

If you arrive after your appointment time, particularly after your appointment slot has passed, you may lose your appointment priority and may have to wait until there is an appropriate gap in the schedule.

If the clinic itself is already running behind schedule, your original appointment position may still be taken into consideration. However, arriving late does not guarantee that you will be seen immediately.

If you know that you are going to be late, please inform reception as soon as possible.

Please do not enter the consultation room or interrupt the doctor to ask whether you can be seen. Inform reception instead. If it is possible to accommodate you, the receptionist will let you know.

I was told that there was a delay, so I came late. Why was I not seen immediately?

A delay in the clinic does not mean that the appointment schedule is cancelled or that patients can arrive at any time.

The appointment system is based on maintaining an orderly consultation queue. If patients were allowed to arrive at arbitrary times based on an estimated delay, it would become difficult to maintain the appointment order and could cause further delays for other patients.

For this reason, patients should report around their scheduled appointment time even when the clinic is running late.

What is a walk-in patient?

A walk-in patient is someone who comes to the clinic without a corresponding appointment.

Walk-in patients may be accommodated when possible, but patients with appointments are given priority.

The fact that an appointment patient has not yet arrived does not automatically mean that a walk-in patient will be given that appointment slot.

If there are appointment patients waiting, a walk-in patient may have to wait until those patients have been attended to. If there is an available gap and the doctor is free, a walk-in patient may occasionally be accommodated.

If you come without an appointment, we recommend booking an available appointment online for the same day and waiting for your appointment time.

What if I have an emergency?

Our clinic does not currently operate a Casualty/Emergency Department and cannot guarantee immediate consultation for patients who arrive without an appointment.

If your condition is an emergency or requires immediate medical attention, please visit the Emergency Department (Casualty) of a hospital.

If your condition is not an emergency, you may book an available appointment for the same day and attend at the scheduled time.

Can I cancel my appointment?

We request that you book an appointment only when you are reasonably certain that you will be able to attend. Appointments are limited each day, and an unused appointment prevents another patient from using that slot.

If you need to cancel your appointment, please cancel it through this website (mobile number and MRD) or by informing reception at least one hour before your appointment time.

If you know several hours in advance that you cannot attend, please inform us as early as possible so that the slot may be made available to another patient.

What happens if I book an appointment but do not attend?

If you book an appointment and do not attend without informing us, the appointment slot is wasted and another patient loses the opportunity to consult.

Because we limit the number of appointments each day, repeated or unexplained no-shows may affect your ability to book future appointments.

What if I don't want to wait because of a delay?

If the waiting time is longer than you are able to accommodate, you may inform reception and request cancellation or rescheduling.

If you decide to leave, please inform reception before leaving rather than simply leaving.

If you have an urgent medical problem that cannot wait, please visit a hospital Emergency Department.

Why can't you tell me exactly how long I have to wait?

The time required for a consultation can vary considerably between patients. Some consultations may be brief, while others may require additional examination, procedures, counselling, or discussion.

Therefore, any waiting time given by the clinic is only an approximate estimate and may change.

We do not rush consultations simply to avoid delays. Our priority is providing appropriate medical care to each patient.

What should I do if I am unhappy about the waiting time?

We understand that waiting can be frustrating. However, we request you to consider yourself in our position, and is managing the clinic. The only way we can guarantee no delay is if doctor starts a timer, and stops consultation as soon as the time is up. Imagine yourself discussing your problem and being told consultation is over. Naturally, you will be unhappy.

If you have a concern about any other aspect of your visit, please contact the clinic administrator, Dr Jeslin, at 9446156506. However we cannot reduce your wait because you complained. Arguing with the doctor or our staff will only create further delays and inconvenience for other patients.

Our receptionist can provide information about appointments, check-in, waiting times and other routine administrative matters, but is not responsible for resolving complaints or disputes regarding the clinic or medical care.

We request that patients treat our doctors, receptionist and other staff with courtesy and respect. A patient who appears to be unreasonable or argumentative will be asked to leave the clinic.

If you need medicines from the clinic, kindly call the clinic in advance and let us know the details of the medicines you require. We will let you know when the medicines will be available for collection.

You can then come to the clinic at the informed time and collect the medicines from reception.

Payment for medicines is made at reception using Google Pay/UPI. Our receptionist is not permitted to accept cash directly and cannot accept card payments.

If you are obtaining medicines that you have been prescribed or are taking for long-term use, please provide the details to reception when calling in advance so that the medicines can be prepared for collection.

If you need to discuss whether a medicine should be started, stopped, changed or substituted, this is a medical matter and should be discussed with the doctor during a consultation. The receptionist cannot provide medical advice or make changes to your prescription.

Our charges for ear wax removal may appear higher compared to some other clinics or hospitals. This is because wax removal can be performed using several different techniques, each varying significantly in safety, comfort, and precision.

In the vast majority of cases (over 99.9%), the procedure is completely painless. If there is any mild discomfort, it is typically due to the natural edges of large or hardened wax pieces—not from the instruments used.

We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of every patient.

If your spouse, family member, or relative has consulted with our doctor, we will not disclose any information regarding the consultation, diagnosis, treatment, investigation results, prescriptions, or medical records to anyone other than the patient, except where disclosure is permitted or required by law.

To protect patient privacy, we do not disclose medical information over telephone calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email, social media, or any other electronic or remote means of communication to relatives, friends, or any third party, regardless of the relationship claimed. Our staff are instructed not to discuss a patient's medical condition with anyone other than the patient or a person who is legally authorized to receive such information.

Our reception staff can assist with general administrative queries, but cannot disclose confidential medical information.

If you wish to discuss your relative's medical condition with the doctor, the patient must book an appointment and may be accompanied by you. During the consultation, the doctor will discuss the patient's medical information only with the patient's informed consent.

Medicolegal Cases

In consultations involving medicolegal issues—including, but not limited to, suspected or confirmed physical, sexual, or domestic abuse, child abuse, or other situations where legal proceedings may arise—we maintain strict confidentiality and will not disclose any information to family members or other third parties without the patient's consent.

Information may be disclosed only where required or authorized by applicable law, including:

• When disclosure is required by a court of competent jurisdiction.
• When disclosure is required by law enforcement or other statutory authorities under applicable law.
• Where reporting is mandated by Indian law (for example, certain offences involving children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, or other mandatory reporting obligations).
• Where disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to life or safety, as permitted by law.

Legal Basis

Our privacy practices are guided by:

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023, which require registered medical practitioners to maintain patient confidentiality except where disclosure is legally permitted or mandated.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which governs the processing of personal data, including health-related personal data, subject to its applicable provisions.
• Other applicable laws, judicial directions, and statutory obligations in force in India.

If you require copies of medical records or reports, they will ordinarily be provided only to the patient or to a person legally authorized to receive them, in accordance with applicable law.

Our receptionist can assist with routine administrative matters, but is not responsible for resolving complaints, disputes or concerns regarding the clinic or medical care.

If you prefer to provide written feedback, you may also send an email to feedback@drjoel.in. We will try to address your concerns as soon as possible.

Kindly do not post complaints on social media or as a Google review, unless you don't plan to visit the clinic again. You should understand that doctors and our staff are human, and are not perfect. We can make mistakes, and have our own personal issues. We have kids and a spouse, and are not immune to personal issues. Occasionally though we try our best to avoid it, our stress may spill over to our work. We are not perfect, and we are human. If our behavior caused you distress, we apologize sincerely and are willing to correct it if you bring it to our attention personally.

Posting online based on a single experience may not be fair to the doctor and our staff, and may not be a true representation of the doctor's or our staff's performance. We request you to consider this before posting online. If you do post a criticism online, kindly understand that we take it very seriously, and permanently ban such users from consultation in future.