Frequently Asked Questions

Consultation fee is charged on actual time spent on a patient for that day, and is calculated as follows:

Consultation charge is charged on actual time spent on a patient for that day. If you need to consult again, or need a followup, there will be charges for the next visit. If you need to visit again on the same day, and want to discuss any results or discuss further, you need not book another appointment. If your revisit is on the same day, and evaluating and discussing it takes less than 5 minutes, we don't normally charge a fee.

Unlike some promotional offers by certain hospitals which provide free revisits for upto X days as a marketing strategy to compete with other hospitals, we don't offer any such promotions, offers or discounts.

Followup is not free. Consultation charges are applicable for follow up visits. When you come for followup, doctor needs to re-evaluate your condition, discuss lab results or other tests, and/or prescribe medicines. All of this involves an experienced doctor using his experience attained over years of medical training and practise to sort out your problems.Charges are applicable when doctor spends time for you.

Visit our clinic only if you need to consult and are ready to pay the consultation fee. If you feel you don't need to followup, there is no need to visit. Please understand that followup is not something done for our sake, but for you.

Unlike some promotional offers by other hospitals or clinics which provide free revisits for upto X days as a marketing strategy to compete with other hospitals, we don't offer any such promotions, offers or discounts. Whether it's a first time consultation or followup, our doctors and staff have to be paid for their time and effort.

The clinic location and Google Map are shown below. We have two locations on Google Maps. Consultation is available at Chavadimukku, around 0.5km from Pangappara, next to Dhanya Supermarket. Our Pongummood location is now closed.

Yes, we have a patient portal/app called MyOPIP Patient Portal. You can access your patient records, including prescription, bills, endoscopy reports and other information through our patient portal/app

Kindly note that appointment time is used to fix token or the order in which patients are seen. If everything proceeds smoothly, you may be called at your appointment time. However, each patient's problems are different. Some may require longer examination time. Some are small kids or elderly and may require longer attention. Some require procedures, which are done carefully.

We don't rush through appointments as we are particular about giving attention and quality of care.

So, Yes, there may be a delay involved, and you may not be seen exactly at your appointment time. Rarely the delay may be more than an hour or more. We try our best to keep the delay to a minimum.

If you don't have the time or patience to wait, or require urgent attention, it may be better to visit the emergency department of any hospital. If you wish to cancel your confirmed appointment because of delay and want to leave or reschedule, just inform our reception number.

Kindly do not argue with staff regarding delays. Our doctors and staff try their best to manage the clinic and to ensure that consultations proceed smoothly. Abusing our staff or doctors will not help you get an appointment sooner, and automatically leads to appointment cancellation, and a permanent ban on any future consultation.

You will get a print of the detailed prescription with the diagnosis, medicines, and instructions. You can also download the prescription from the website. The download link will be sent to your Whatsapp number as a message, and also sent by SMS, as soon as consultation is over. We also will give you a hard copy of the prescription. Printers being machines occasionally make mistakes. Hence do confirm that your prescription matches your name.

We're happy to announce that now you will be able to get all information about your visits, including prescription, bills, endoscopy reports and other information through our patient portal/app

Our clinic uses a state of the art electronic health record system, MyOPIP. Your generated bills and a UPI payment link are instantly sent to your Whatsapp number the instant a bill is generated. If you require a printed, sealed and stamped bill for your records, you can inform the doctor or our reception. Sealed and signed bills can be collected from our reception. We will not be scanning and sending them.

We're happy to announce that now you will be able to get all information about your visits, including prescription, bills, endoscopy reports and other information through our patient portal/app

Yes, we have a pharmacy in the clinic, stocked with good quality medicines personally verified and dispensed by the doctor. If you prefer to get medicines from outside, you can do that. If you do need medicines from us, make sure you inform the doctor during consultation itself. Since we don't have a separate pharmacy, we dispense medicines only during your consultation time, and will not be able to do it later.

We will not accept responsibility for any mismatch of medicines, or any other problem arising from buying medicines from outside.We will not entertain any calls asking us whether the medicines bought from outside are correct or not.

If you want to visit to get medicines you are taking for long term use, inform us in advance, we will let you know the amount. Then, come to the clinic, pay by scanning the QR, and then let us know. Doctor will handover the medicines between consultation. Please dont enter the clinic without informing in advance as we allot appointments with meticulous time management. Any delay however short will delay the entire day's consultations.

If you have a followup question or doubt, we advise you to discuss it with the doctor during your next visit. We do not provide any service outside clinic hours, including answering calls or followup enquiries after or before consultation. If you have emergencies, kindly visit the emergency department of any hospital.

If you have been asked to send any investigation result by the doctor, you can send it by Whatsapp as a typed message. If it has not been seen, you can request the doctor to see it, during working hours.

During clinic holidays or Sundays, we will not be attending to any kind of queries, and will not be able to answer calls or messages. In an emergency, contact your nearest hospital emergency department. You can review with us on the next working day.

The doctor is busy outside clinic hours, and is not available to take calls. If you have any non-emergency queries regarding a prescription, you may send a typed message on our Whatsapp number. We will try to answer your queries as soon as possible, but do not offer any guarantee of immediate response. We request your patience and understanding.

We do NOT provide any service outside clinic hours, including answering calls by the doctor or followup enquiries after or before consultation. If you have a followup enquiry or doubt, you may discuss it during your next visit to the doctor.

On Sundays and Holidays, our staff will NOT be available to answer calls or messages. You will be able to connect with our staff only during working hours.

Procedure charges are not published online. If you have already visited the clinic, you may contact our reception for a detailed list of charges for various procedures.

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.

If cost is your primary concern, you may choose a clinic that offers lower-cost methods. However, if you or your child value safety, comfort, and meticulous care, we recommend opting for microscopic wax removal.

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.

The following is an incomplete list of procedures done in the clinic:

Our clinic uses state of the art AI powered voice announcements along with a display system which shows whether a patient has been announced, each person's appointment time, and who is currently consulting.

Each patient is called by name and appointment time, and asked to go in. You will be called in order of your appointment time. You don't need to tell the doctor that you have arrived. Please wait in the waiting area, and listen to the announcements.

Please don't disturb the doctor by asking whether you have been called, or whether you can go in, or to inform that you were late.

If you were late by a couple of minutes, you will be called again later. If you were late by more than 20 minutes, you may not be called till several other appointments are over. You need to wait patiently as calling you at other patients' alloted time will delay the entire day's consultations.

We carefully arrange appointment slots in such a way that each patient gets enough time with the doctor, and at the same time there is no delay for the next patient. If you don't report when your name is called, and come during another patient's slot, you may not be seen on priority. You will need to wait till there is a gap in the schedule. If the appointments are already running late, you will need to wait till appointments are over.

If the delay was unavoidable, and less than 20 minutes, and there aren't too many patients waiting, occasionally we may call you in between. But kindly don't interrupt the doctor or enter to ask whether you may come. Call our reception number. If possible, you will be called in in after a few more consultations are over.

ENT being a specialty which relies on accurate diagnosis based on close clinical examination, online consultation is inadequate to make a proper diagnosis. Though we used to do online consultations during the peak of COVID pandemic, we have phased it out now, as the doctor is too busy in the clinic with physical consultations. We recommend that you visit the clinic for a proper consultation.

We do, on occasion do online consultations for patients who are abroad. This is a premium service. If you are abroad and need an online consultation, visit our website and go through the details. Consultation online is subject to availability.

If you have visited the clinic, and have obtained treatment, we can issue a medical certificate for the period of treatment. For a medical certificate, we need to see the patient in person. Also note that a medical certificate can be issued only if you have both visited at the start of your illness, and also have completed your treatment as advised by the doctor, and have followed up to confirm that the treatment was completed. Medical Certificate is a medicolegal document, and government laws regulate its issuance.

For issuing a medical certificate, the following conditions apply:

1. The period of illness for which the certificate is requested must lie between the first consultation date and followup date.
2. You should not have missed followup.
3. During the treatment, you should not have obtained treatment from any other doctor (unless it was on the advice of our doctor), or system of medicine.
4. The patient must come in person for the certificate to be issued. The Patient's signature will be obtained before issuing the certificate.
5. Medical certificate will not be issued by proxy. We also will not entertain any requests to issue and send it by email or Whatsapp.
6. No doctor in this clinic will issue a false or fake certificate.

To ensure privacy of the patient, we will not be able to disclose any details regarding the consultation to any person other than the patient himself/herself. If you wish to discuss the details of your relative with the doctor, the patient needs to book an appointment. You can accompany the patient, and with the patient's consent, you can discuss the details with the doctor.

In consultations involving medicolegal issues including potential or suspected abuse involving women and children, we will not be able to disclose any details regarding the consultation to any person other than the patient herself/himself. Exceptions include a medicolegal case filed with the police or a request from a court. In this case, we will comply with law, and will share relevant details with the concerned authorities.

If you have a followup question or doubt, we advise you to discuss it with the doctor during your next visit. We do not provide any service outside clinic hours, including answering calls or followup enquiries after consultation.

Our doctors are NOT AVAILABLE for talking to over the phone. If you have a concern, you can inform our receptionist, or send a typed Whatsapp message to the clinic number. We will not be sharing our doctors' personal contact details with anyone.

If you have a complaint/suggestion/feedback about your visit to the clinic, send a typed Whatsapp message to the clinic number, or as email to feedback@drjoel.in. We will try to address your concerns as soon as possible. We will also reply to your message on Whatsapp.

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.