Terms of service

Effective date: July 29, 2026  ·  Last reviewed: July 29, 2026  ·  Version 1.0

1. About Care In House

Care In House ("we", "us", "our") provides physician-directed mobile nursing and clinical home-visit services in the Halton region (Oakville, Burlington, and surrounding areas). Our nurses are Registered Nurses (RNs) in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). All clinical services are delivered under written medical directives authorized by our physician medical director.

References to "you" or "the patient" mean the adult patient receiving the service. References to "the booking contact" mean the adult who made the booking on behalf of the patient (where different).

2. Scope of service — Phase 1

Care In House currently offers the following services during home visits:

• Physical examination including otoscopy, lung auscultation, vital signs, and clinical assessment
• Acute illness assessment (suspected ear infection, sore throat, UTI, viral or respiratory illness)
• Point-of-care testing: urine dipstick, rapid strep swab, viral swab (flu/COVID/RSV), capillary glucose — read on-site
• New prescriptions and continuation of suitable chronic medications where clinically appropriate, issued by our physician
• Dermoscopy image capture with physician interpretation and written recommendation (included in every visit at no additional charge)
• Chronic disease check-in (hypertension, diabetes, COPD, and other stable conditions)

The following services are not currently available and will not be performed under any circumstances in Phase 1:

• Intravenous (IV) therapy of any kind
• Phlebotomy (blood draws for laboratory testing)
• Immunizations or injectable medications (coming in Phase 2)
• Wound care or post-operative dressing changes (coming in Phase 3)
• Paediatric visits (patients under 18)
• Mental health crisis intervention
• Emergency or urgent life-threatening care of any kind

Care In House reserves the right to decline or discontinue a visit at any point if, in the clinical judgement of the nurse or physician, the patient's condition falls outside the scope of the service.

3. This is not an emergency service

Our nurses are trained to recognise acute deterioration and will activate emergency services (911) if required during a visit. They will remain with the patient and provide supportive care until paramedics arrive.

4. Eligibility and visit requirements

• Adults only (18+). The patient must be 18 years of age or older. We do not currently see patients under 18.
• Adult present. A person aged 18 or over (the patient or a responsible adult) must be present and available for the entire duration of the visit. We cannot proceed if no eligible adult is present on arrival.
• Ontario residents. At launch, the service is available to residents within our Oakville and Burlington service area. Visiting patients temporarily staying in the area may also be eligible — contact us to confirm.
• Safe environment. The visit location must be safely accessible. We reserve the right to decline or terminate a visit if the environment poses a risk to the safety of our staff.
• Capacity to consent. The patient (or a capable substitute decision-maker under the Health Care Consent Act, 1996) must be able to provide informed consent at the time of the visit.

5. Booking, triage, and confirmation

All booking requests are subject to a triage process before a visit is confirmed. Triage is conducted by a member of our team — typically within a few hours of your request — to:

• Confirm your concern falls within our scope of service
• Identify any red-flag features that require immediate emergency care instead of a home visit
• Gather any information needed to prepare the right equipment or clinical approach

A booking is not confirmed until you receive written or verbal confirmation from Care In House following triage. Payment is collected at the time of confirmed booking.

Care In House reserves the right to decline a booking request where the clinical presentation is outside our scope, the visit cannot be safely conducted, or for any other reasonable clinical or operational reason.

6. Arrival windows and response times

• Target response time: We aim to dispatch a nurse within 24 hours of a confirmed, triaged booking.
• Guaranteed response time: We guarantee arrival within 72 hours of a confirmed booking, subject to geographic availability within our service area.
• Arrival window: You will be given a confirmed 2-hour arrival window. We will make reasonable efforts to arrive within that window. Unforeseen clinical or traffic circumstances may occasionally delay arrival — we will notify you as promptly as possible.

Response time commitments apply only to bookings confirmed within our service area. They do not apply to situations that should be directed to 911 or an emergency room.

7. Fees, payment, and refunds

7.1 Fee schedule

• Standard home visit (up to 45 minutes): from $175 CAD
• Extended home visit (up to 75 minutes): from $250 CAD
• Additional point-of-care test: from $25 CAD each
• Dermoscopy image review: included at no additional charge
• After-hours / weekend surcharge (evenings after 7 pm, weekends, statutory holidays): + $50 CAD

Fees cover the nurse's time, travel within our service area, consumables, physical examination, point-of-care testing, and administration. Medications prescribed during the visit are not included and are dispensed separately at pharmacy cost. HST is applicable where required by law.

7.2 Payment

Payment by credit or debit card is collected in full at the time of booking confirmation. We use a PCI-DSS-compliant payment processor; we do not store full card numbers. By providing your payment details, you authorise us to charge the applicable fee.

7.3 Refunds and cancellations

• Cancellations made more than 4 hours before the confirmed arrival window: full refund.
• Cancellations made within 4 hours of the arrival window or same-day: a cancellation fee of $75 applies; the remainder is refunded.
• If Care In House cancels or cannot complete the visit due to circumstances on our side: full refund.
• If the visit cannot proceed on arrival because no eligible adult is present, or because the environment is unsafe: a $75 missed-visit fee applies; no clinical service is provided.
• Refunds are returned to the original payment method within 5–10 business days.

8. OHIP and insured services

The home-visit nursing fee described in section 7 covers uninsured private services (nurse's time, travel, physical examination, point-of-care testing, and administration). These are not funded by OHIP.

Where our physician provides a medically necessary consultation during a visit (for example, to issue a prescription or communicate a clinical finding), and the patient is OHIP-eligible, that physician service will be billed to OHIP directly by our physician. Patients are never charged separately for OHIP-insured physician services.

Patients who are not OHIP-eligible will be informed of any applicable physician fee before the physician component proceeds. Consent is required before any fee is charged.

Care In House strictly complies with the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, 2004 and does not engage in extra-billing or double-billing for insured services.

9. Informed consent and clinical authority

Our nurses will obtain your informed consent before conducting any examination or test, consistent with the Health Care Consent Act, 1996 and CNO consent standards. Consent is voluntary; you may refuse or withdraw consent for any specific intervention at any time.

All clinical decisions — including prescribing, diagnosis, and management recommendations — are made by or under the authority of our physician medical director. Nurses act within their CNO scope and the specific medical directives issued by our physician. Where a clinical situation exceeds the applicable directive, the nurse will contact our physician by video before proceeding.

By booking a visit, you acknowledge and accept this model of care delivery.

10. Clinical records

Care In House creates and retains a clinical record for every patient visit. Records are handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and PHIPA. You have the right to access your records on request. With your consent, we will send a visit summary to your family doctor.

11. Cancellation and no-shows

See section 7.3 for the full cancellation and refund policy. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please contact us as early as possible at info@carenhouse.ca or by phone. Repeated last-minute cancellations or no-shows may result in a requirement for prepayment of future bookings or, at our discretion, refusal of future service.

12. Zero tolerance — acceptable conduct

Our nurses have the right to a safe working environment at all times. Care In House operates a strict zero-tolerance policy. The following will not be tolerated under any circumstances, toward our nurse or any other person present at the visit location:

• Verbal abuse, shouting, swearing, threats, or intimidation of any kind
• Harassment, discriminatory language, or conduct of any form
• Physical aggression, threatening gestures, or any physical contact with our nurse
• Possession or use of weapons or substances that create an unsafe environment
• Any conduct — verbal, physical, or otherwise — that causes our nurse to feel unsafe
• Misrepresentation of the patient's identity, condition, or location that materially affects the clinical or safety assessment

The visit will be ended immediately if any of the above occurs, or if our nurse reasonably believes that continuing the visit poses a risk to their safety. Our nurse is authorised to leave the premises without notice in such circumstances. Emergency services (911) will be contacted where appropriate.

No refund will be issued where a visit is terminated due to unacceptable conduct. Care In House reserves the right to permanently refuse future bookings to any individual who has exhibited such behaviour, and to report the conduct to relevant authorities or regulatory bodies where warranted.

13. Limitation of liability

Care In House provides clinical services through regulated health professionals acting in accordance with their professional standards, regulatory obligations, and our written clinical protocols. Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under applicable health-care legislation or under the common law in relation to clinical negligence.

To the maximum extent permitted by Ontario law, Care In House's liability for any claim arising from non-clinical matters (for example, scheduling errors, administrative issues, or website use) is limited to the fees paid for the visit to which the claim relates.

We are not liable for:

• Losses arising from your failure to call 911 or seek emergency care when clinically appropriate
• Losses arising from inaccurate or incomplete information provided to us at the time of booking or during the visit
• Indirect, consequential, or economic losses not directly caused by our clinical services

14. Intellectual property

All content on the Care In House website — including text, design, clinical protocols, and branding — is the property of Care In House or its licensors and is protected by applicable copyright and trade-mark law. You may not reproduce, distribute, or adapt any content without our prior written permission.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any dispute arising under these terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The "effective date" at the top of this page reflects the current version. Continued use of the service after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. We will post a notice on our website when material changes are made.

17. Contact us

For questions about these terms, bookings, or complaints about the service:

Care In House
Email: info@carenhouse.ca
Phone: [phone — active at launch]
[Mailing address, Ontario]

For privacy-related matters specifically, contact our Privacy Officer at info@carenhouse.ca or refer to our Privacy Policy.

For complaints about regulated health professionals, you may also contact:

• CPSO (physicians): www.cpso.on.ca
• CNO (nurses): www.cno.org