Medicals
OK, imihelp, I will try and answer your question since Yummy_K is still recovering from his celebrations or is, more likely, just too lazy
. In fact, I think my circumstances are quite unusual so may shed more light. My experience has been at panelphysicians.com - Howard Seiden's office in Toronto.
They accept visa medicals between 7 - 8.30 only on Mon thru Wed. You have call and schedule the day, after that it is first-come, first-serve. We (self, spouse, 2 kids, 1 aged 3 yrs, the other 7 months) got to their office at 8.10 am. We had to wait for about 15 minutes to register with the secretary. She will use your consulate appointment letter and your identification to set up the records, take the money (cash upfront, please
) with 1 passport photo, your vaccination and other medical records and then give you slips of paper indicating what tests are required. For us, it was physical, x-rays, blood tests, for the kids only the physical. Being me, I forgot to take identification for the two kids
- but they allowed me to go ahead with the tests for them with the understanding that they would release the results only after I came back with ID for them.
You then wait for your turn to be called. They draw your blood in the meantime. They then called all of us into a large examination room and asked my and my wife to change into paper gowns. Two doctors came in a while later. The main doctor (he seemed to be in charge) sat down behind a desk and started looking at our vaccination records and writing it down on the IV medical forms. During that time, he asked us questions - have you ever been hospitalized, had surgery, etc. etc. In my case, I had been diagnosed with TB in 1986. So I informed him about this and then gave him documentation (from India, the US and Canada) that showed that I had taken treatment, been monitored over the last 14 years with no signs of any relapses. He accepted that and indicated that I should leave my old x-rays with the radiologist that would do the x-rays for the visa.
In the meantime, the other doctor did a quick physical on all of us (eyes, ears, throat, chest). Nothing else, I mean nothing else and then was playing with our 3 year old. The main doctor then said that we needed booster shots for TD/Diptheria for me and my wife and our daughter needed Hep-B shots. They do not administer the Hep-B shots so he asked us to go back to our primary physician, get it done and fax in the confirmation.
Once the main doctor was done, he made copies of my TB related documents and then returned all the records to us. We then got dressed and went for the x-rays which were done quickly. I left my most recent old x-ray with the technician.
We went straight to our physician, got the required shots done and faxed in the confirmation. The next day I got a call from them saying that they were finished with the results and that I can come in (with ID for the children) and pick them up. I couldn't go that day so went the next day and got the results. Also had my old x-rays returned.
So,:
a) The medical is not very aggressive.
b) Took us about 2 hours start to finish including the waiting.
c) No forms to be filled in - they do it all. You just need to take your appointment letter with you along with the photos, vacc records and of course, the cash.
d) Don't know much about grounds for failure or failure rate - but - there are certain medical conditions that are grounds for inadmissibility (HIV, etc.). Past medical conditions, make sure you have enough supporting documentation to prove that you have been treated for it (you may be asked to do additional tests). If a medical condition is detected during the exam, depending on the condition, you may be able to re-do the medical once you have taken treatment and then proceed with your CP.
All in all, the staff at Howard Seiden were very helpful and nice. They have a large number of people with very varied backgrounds coming to them for IV medicals, I noticed some that barely knew English and I could tell that they were sometimes frustrated trying to guide or explain something to such folks. Be polite, courteous and quick on the take and they are fine.
Hope this helps.