Other Service Info; Weight Loss Services, Dietitian, Alberta

Other Service Information

(Updated Jan. 27, 2025)

Click on a topic:

What information may I need from you in sessions?

Food intake records
Technology I have
My schedule
During our sessions
Timelines
Resources
Consent and confidentiality
Payments
When to see a different health provider?

What information may I need from you in sessions?
You could just tell me about yourself. For in-depth help, you may want to share health document(s) and food intake record(s) with me. It's optional to ask me to share my online "Client Information" form with you if you want to provide more information before a session.

Health documents:

You may want to get a completed referral form or your health records from a service provider (e.g. doctor) and share this with me.
Examples of other ways to get the above information:
- Get your prescriptions list from your pharmacist.
- Make a list of medications and supplements that you take.
  - Try including details such as the brand, product name, and recommended dosage.
- Get your test results (e.g. blood values) from a lab.
  - Ask the staff to give your results to you or me. You may need to complete their form (e.g. HERE) and show your ID.
  - Results tend to be available within 1 to 7 days for simple tests or after 1 week for other tests.
- Get your free “MyHealth Records”. It may be missing some information.

Food intake records:

You may want to record all foods, fluids, and supplements that you consume for at least one day (ideally two weekdays and one weekend day) and share it with me.
- Measure or estimate amounts, such as in grams, measuring cups, or portions. Also try including details like brands, product names, and cooking methods.
  - Examples: a palm-sized grilled chicken breast, half a plate of boiled white rice, 2 tbsp of Dairyland sour cream (14% M.F.), a dash of salt, “a lot of various foods”, a 355 mL can of classic Pepsi, or 2 Metamucil fiber pills.

- Include the times you start consuming the items.
- It’s optional to include photos or other notes, like recipes used or notes about your bowel movements, feelings/thoughts, medication use, physical activities, or symptoms.
- If you want to make a table, it could look like this:

(palm-sized)

Date & start time:	Item amount & type:	Notes:

Technology I have:

A Lenovo Yoga 730 laptop (Windows 10) that has:
- The free Cronometer, Mealime, and BlueStacks 10.
- The paid version of Paprika Recipe Manager 3.
- Microsoft Office 2021 Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Teams, and Word.
- Various Excel templates that I made (e.g. to calculate nutrition needs).
- A stylus pen that I can use to draw on the laptop.
A smartphone with Android 12 and the Monash University FODMAP Diet app.
A camera, printer, and scanner.
A digital food scale.

My schedule:

I’m normally available seven days per week. If I’ll be unavailable during any of my regular workdays, I’ll try to mention this in my website's Contact page.
I add available times in my schedule on an ongoing basis.

During our sessions:

If I work on tasks by myself, we can keep a video/phone call on or end it. As needed, we can plan to re-open the call at a certain time or I can contact you once I’m done a task.
If I’m unable to provide services during parts of session(s) due to my technology not working or me being absent, then I will record this “missed time” (MT).
- You can ask me to use MT by:
  - Working on task(s) for you outside of sessions
  - Or adding MT to the end of our current session or total time of a future session
  - Or creating a promo code (if MT adds up to 10 minutes or more) based on my regular rates to reduce the cost of your next session.
- There’s no deadline to use MT as long as you remain my client.

Timelines:

If you ask me to work on a task:
- I’ll tell you if I can do it. If yes, I’ll typically say how much time I may need to complete it (e.g. a few seconds to several hours). This time depends on details such as:
  - How many of your needs/wants that I have to try to meet.
  - How much information I know or need to gather/read about a topic.
  - How difficult it is to find good-quality information.
  - What the quality of technology is like.
  - How much I need to adjust/review my draft work.
  - How long of a reference list I need to make (the free Google Scholar often helps me to do this quickly).
- If you still want me to work on the task, we can decide how much time I should spend on it. If my estimate is long (e.g. 30 minutes), it’s okay to check my progress earlier (e.g. at 15 minutes) and decide if you want me to continue the task.
After you attend a session or pay me to access a resource, I’ll try to:
- Share relevant session notes, resources (if possible), and certain receipts with you within 1 to 4 days.*
- Submit the claim to your insurance company within 7 days (if you want me to) and message you (e.g. by email) once I do this.
- * Note: If you want a receipt after you attend each session of a package, please ask me to send them to you.
If you send me a message, I’ll try to reply within a few seconds to 2 days if it’s urgent or within 7 days if it’s less urgent.
If I’m unavailable during certain days, this may cause delays in my timelines.

Resources:

If I create resources, I may share them as PDF or partially-editable files with you.
Many research/study articles are free, but occasionally about $20 to $50 CAD per article is needed to access them.

Consent and confidentiality:

If you’re under 18 years of age, it’s okay to ask me to check if you’re a “mature minor” who can consent by themselves.
If you have an authorized representative (AR), then you, your AR, and I can plan who can access your private information.
It’s best to not send private information in regular email, phone texting, or social media because this may not be secure.
I may need to share certain private information in situations such as:
- If you may seriously harm yourself or other person(s) soon.
- If you’re a child, or know of a child, in need of protection.
- If there is a court order.
- If an insurance company wants to check that your claim is correct.

Payments:

I normally try to use free resources (e.g. articles and apps) when helping you. If a resource has a price, you can buy it or pay me so that I can access it.
If needed, I can create more payment options in Practice Better.
I also accept cash, cheques, and e-transfers (e.g. Interac or PayPal to teri.nutrition300@gmail.com). You can ask me to make a receipt for this.
I normally want to get paid before I provide services or order anything for you.
Dietitian services are income tax deductible under medical expenses.
For refunds, I may not refund processing fees (about 2.9% + $0.30 per card charge if you paid me in Practice Better).

When to see a different health provider?

If you have/want a close, non-professional relationship with me, then you may need to see a different dietitian.
If you want someone to order tests (e.g. blood work), tell you if you have a new health condition, prescribe medications or certain supplements, give you access to certain services, or assess an adult’s ability to consent, then see your doctor.