How to Choose a Panel Physician in North York and the GTA

If Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has asked you to complete an immigration medical exam — or you're planning an upfront medical exam for Express Entry — your first step is choosing a panel physician. In the Greater Toronto Area you have several options, including clinics in North York, Scarborough, and Markham, and the clinic you pick affects how quickly you get an appointment, how much you pay, whether your lab work happens the same day, and how smoothly your results reach IRCC.

Here's a practical guide to choosing well — and to making sure the clinic you book is actually the clinic you meant to book.

Only a designated panel physician can complete your IME

Your family doctor cannot complete an immigration medical exam. IRCC only accepts exams performed by designated panel physicians, so before anything else, confirm the clinic you're considering appears on IRCC's official Find a panel physician tool. Any legitimate panel clinic will be listed there with its exact address and physician names.

Your options in and around North York

North York residents searching for a "panel physician near me" will find clinics inside North York itself, in downtown Toronto, in Scarborough — and just up Highway 404 in Markham, where our clinic, GTA Immigration Medical Clinic Markham, is located. From most of North York we're a 15 to 30 minute drive, and from the Don Mills and Fairview area it's about 15 minutes straight up the 404.

Distance matters less than you might think. An immigration medical exam is typically a one-time visit: you go once, complete the exam and lab work, and the clinic submits everything to IRCC electronically. What actually shapes your experience is what happens during and after that single visit:

• Appointment availability. If IRCC gave you a deadline, a clinic that can see you this week beats a closer clinic that can't. We often have same-day and next-day appointments available.
• Same-visit lab work. Blood and urine testing are required for most adult applicants. If the clinic does testing on-site (we do), you avoid a second trip to an outside lab.
• Transparent pricing. Exam fees are not standardized between clinics. Look for a clinic that publishes its prices so there are no surprises at the front desk.
• Language support. Completing a medical exam in your preferred language reduces stress and mistakes. Our staff serve patients in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
• Parking and access. Downtown and mall-adjacent clinics often mean paid garages or busy lots. Our Liberty Square location has free parking steps from the door, and we're minutes from Highways 404, 407, and 401.
• Reviews — count and rating together. A 5.0 rating from a small number of reviews tells you less than a high rating sustained across hundreds. Our patients rate us 4.8 out of 5 across more than 700 Google reviews.

A quick checklist before you book

1. Verify the clinic on IRCC's panel physician list.
2. Confirm the exam price — and whether lab fees are included or extra.
3. Ask whether blood and urine testing happen on-site during the same visit.
4. Check how results are submitted (eMedical electronic submission is fastest) and how long the clinic takes to file them.
5. Confirm you'll receive proof of completion — your IME or UMI number — before you leave. (Not sure what that is? See our guide to IME and UMI numbers.)
6. If you need an upfront medical exam, confirm the clinic handles those routinely.
7. Double-check the clinic's exact name, address, and phone number — more on that next.

Don't mix up similarly named clinics

Several immigration medical clinics in the GTA operate under similar names, and patients tell us they've been confused more than once. To be clear about who we are:

GTA Immigration Medical Clinic Markham (this website, www.gtamed.ca) is an independent, IRCC-approved panel physician clinic located at 3603 Highway 7 E. Unit 102, Markham, ON L3R 8W3, phone (365) 509-2311. We are the only panel physician clinic located in Markham.

We are not affiliated with "GTA Immigration Physicians" (a separately owned clinic in North York), with "Immedex GTA Immigration Medical Exam Centre" (in Scarborough), or with any other clinic using a similar name. If you've read our reviews or been referred to us by a friend, a lawyer, or a consultant, make sure the appointment you book shows our Markham address and our phone number — otherwise you may end up at a different clinic than the one that was recommended to you.

Booking your exam from North York

If you're in North York and want your exam done quickly and done once: book online, call us at (365) 509-2311, or read more about what to expect when visiting us from North York. You'll complete your physician exam, blood work, and urine testing in a single visit, and we'll submit your results directly to IRCC through eMedical — typically within 5-10 days of your exam.

Have questions first? Our FAQ page covers pricing, what to bring, timing, and more.