Dr. Heather Austin

02/24/2026

Dr. Johnston’s and Dr. Austin’s office (Unit 5) will be closed February 24. Virtual appointments will go ahead as scheduled.
Stay safe and warm!

02/13/2026

We have received some negative feedback regarding the drop-in prescription refill clinics. Health PEI currently considers prescription refills an administrative task, rather than an important part of the overall care of a patient. In order to demonstrate the value of and account for the time this work requires, in person prescription refills are required. Refills continue to be provided as part of any regularly scheduled appointment.

The following dates are reserved for refill clinics from 2-4 pm:
February 19 and 26
March 5 and 26
April 2, 9, and 23
May 14 and 21
June 4, 11, and 18

Additional dates will posted later in the year. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

02/12/2026

The refill clinic will operate from 2 until 3 pm today, rather than 2-4 as previously scheduled.
We apologize for any inconvenience .

02/09/2026

Patients are beginning to take advantage of the new portal to access lab results. It is important to understand these results need to be interpreted within the individual clinical context and medical history of the patient.

If there are results that I feel warrant further discussion and/or follow up, the clinic will reach out to you to book an appointment. If there are results that you would like to discuss, please contact the clinic to schedule an appointment. My office staff cannot field phone calls or provide the appropriate clinical interpretation for these results.

01/31/2026

Thankful for the care the IWK has provided to so many of my patients over the years.

"Every day I’m in awe of the miracle that she is."

It was December 2024 when Sloane and her family's world changed in an instant. Sloane was a happy and healthy five year old girl until, at her brother's hockey game, the unimaginable happened: she collapsed suddenly.

Now, four brain surgeries and a medically induced coma later, Sloane's care has proved to be complex and intensive. The road to recovery has not been an easy one, but with the support of her family and the IWK’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Sloane's s***k and resilience have continued to shine through.

To learn more about Sloane's story visit https://iwkfoundation.org/meet-our-heroes/sloane

01/27/2026

UPDATE: Clinic will now open at 12:30.

Sea Isle Medical, Unit 5, (Dr. Austin and Dr. Johnston) will delay opening until 10:30.
Scheduled appointments will be rebooked.

01/23/2026

Share widely.
This is a repeat of the situation with the collapse of Internal Medicine services in Summerside. The alarm was sounded over a year ago, and government and HPEI have caused significant moral injury, compounded burnout, and demonstrated their lack of understanding of the problem with their proposed “solutions.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2026 Letter from PEI College of Physicians a serious warning for PEI healthcare Charlottetown, PE – A recent letter from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island is a clear warning of the dangerous direction this PC Government is heading when...

12/18/2025

Thank you for combatting this misinformation. Shame on the Eastern Graphic.

The complexity of family medicine needs to be better understood—especially as health policy is created. This PEI article relies on oversimplified assumptions that end up devaluing the work of family doctors.

🏥 You cannot project capacity by equating nurse practitioner panels (400–900) with family physician panels (avg. ~1,350). They are not interchangeable roles.
⚕️Many family physicians work part-time for legitimate reasons (including caregiving) and cannot be expected to carry full-time panel sizes.
👩‍⚕️ Family doctors deliver care across multiple settings—clinics, hospitals, long-term care, addictions, palliative care, homecare —which directly limits how many patients they can roster.
🩺 Inflated panel sizes mean worse access, lower patient satisfaction, and less in-depth care.

If we’re serious about addressing Canada’s family doctor shortage, we need to start by clearly understanding their work environment and clinical reality—not narratives that blame family physicians for systemic failures.

The CFPC’s document on panel sizes in Canada (link in the first comment) has more in-depth analysis.

12/15/2025

Appointments with Dr. Austin will proceed as scheduled this morning. If you are unable to make your appointment due to the weather, please call to reschedule. 

Appointments with our allied health team in Unit 4 are delayed until 9:30. Patients affected by this delay will be called to reschedule.

12/03/2025

Dr. Austin’s office at Sea Isle Medical (UNIT 5) will be open as scheduled this morning. Please exercise caution. If you are unable to travel due to the weather notify the clinic so we can reschedule your appointment. Stay safe!

Appointments at UNIT 4 are delayed until 9:30.

11/07/2025

Notice to patients:

We are adding a licensed practical nurse to our team! On November 14 and 20, and December 1 and 2, we will not be seeing patients in order to work on onboarding this new staff member.

The clinic will also be closed for patient appointments December 4 for administrative meetings.

Due to inpatient coverage at PCH, the clinic will be closed December 22 through January 2.

Any appointments with our nursing team in Unit 4 will proceed as scheduled.

10/28/2025

UPDATE: power restored :)

We are currently without power. The city is aware but we do not know when power will be restored.