As we at AFHTO approach this holiday season, I think it is a great time to reflect on 2019 and offer some thoughts on what 2020 could possibly hold for us all.
This last year has brought many changes, challenges and opportunities to all of us working in team-based care. AFHTO, like many of our members, has had to adjust to a new funding reality that has caused us to reevaluate our priorities and work even harder to provide meaningful value to those we serve.
Happily, we have succeeded in continuing to keep a focus on those issues that matter for primary care teams. By advancing the cause of team-based care and celebrating the incredible successes of our members, we raise the profile of primary care in Ontario to the foundational status that it deserves.
Our annual AFHTO conference was a great opportunity to learn from each other as well as network and spotlight the inspiring work of so many of our teams. It’s also a great venue to highlight how our efforts with trusted partners such as the OCFP, NPAO, SGFP and the ministry continue to pay dividends by advancing the interests of our patients in building a world class primary care system. Every year I am amazed and impressed of the work that is on display at our annual conference and if you haven’t attended in the last year or so, I urge you to participate in 2020.
As many of you know, despite financial challenges last year, AFHTO continues to emphasize and demonstrate that quality and performance are the cornerstone of team-based care. Along with our partners, we will continue to advocate that all residents of Ontario have the benefit of access to the quality that primary care teams offer to their patients. There is no reason that this superior model of care should only be available to a minority of Ontarians.
Hopefully, as Ontario continues to undergo primary care reform, we can influence the development of a system that truly puts patients first and builds an effective primary care landscape that embraces the principles of the quadruple aim.
We would like to thank member teams who have generously donated unspent dollars through voluntary contributions in the past few years. As we’re undergoing unprecedented massive health system transformation, we look forward to continuing to support you with the tools and resources that you need during these times and encourage you to consider supporting AFHTO again this year with any unspent dollars you may have in your budgets. We are always grateful for your support.
As we look forward to 2020, it’s obvious that much work will need to be done. With the advent of OHTs, it’s more critical than ever that primary care be involved in advancing the interests of our patients. Nobody is in a better position to advocate for what our patients need and deserve than those that work for and care for them on a day to day basis. Our patients and their caregivers need us to take a foundational role in helping develop a system that embraces and protects their interests first and foremost.
I am proud that AFHTO has taken a leadership role in helping teams prepare for OHTs and lead the way in visioning what primary care reform should look like in Ontario. Our Governance and Leadership program has been instrumental in developing valuable tools to help teams navigate the confusing waters of OHT formation. We’re here to help our teams and have collected great resources to assist them in this process.
Speaking of OHTs, I can’t help but recognize a new sense of optimism and engagement in primary care that I have observed develop over the last 6 months or so. I think this is partly motivated by frustration with a long-standing dysfunctional health care system that seemed to serve the bureaucracy rather than patients or providers. I have witnessed a surge of grassroots providers that have been inspired by the hope of being included as integral in the development of a new model of care that puts the patient and their caregiver at the centre and with a focus on the quadruple aim.
Together, we can make this a reality for Ontario. We need to continue to keep our patients’ interests first and use team-based care as the model that has already demonstrated the enviable qualities we hope to see offered to everyone in our province.
With these final thoughts I wish to thank the dedicated staff at AFHTO who work so hard to meet our members needs and represent their interests. Their efforts are truly appreciated.
As an insufferable optimist, we must celebrate our accomplishments in 2019 and have much to look forward to in 2020. And so, on behalf of the board at AFHTO and all the staff, I am wishing each and every one of you a happy holiday season and a very safe and happy New Year!
Dr. Tom Richard
President and Board Chair
Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
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