Bits & Pieces: 2023 Ontario budget and more

Your Weekly News & Updates

Overview of the 2023 Ontario government budget

Last Thursday the government released their 2023 Ontario Budget, Building a Strong Ontario. This budget was largely a reinforcement of “Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care”. Introduced in February 2023, it focused on three pillars: The Right Care in the Right Place, Faster Access to Care, and Hiring More Health Care Workers.

Most relevant, the provincial budget recommitted to connect Ontarians to additional primary care teams by investing $60 million over two years. We have confirmed this is the same $30 million that was announced in February, carried over 2 years resulting in a total investment of $60 million dollars. While this is a step in the right direction, we are disappointed there was not more of a commitment over the longer term.

The health human resources crisis that currently exists was acknowledged through additional investments in nursing, medical school education and home care, but none were made for primary care nor any mention of dropping the appeal to retain Bill 124. However, much needed support in mental health and addictions was welcomed. Read full details on our site.

Farewell to Abisola Otepola

It is with genuinely mixed feelings we announce that Abisola Otepola will be leaving AFHTO for new opportunities.

Abisola has been with AFHTO since last May as Director of Policy and Stakeholder Relations. Many have you had the pleasure of working with her as she has led our efforts on the compensation review and IHP guidance document, details of which are to be released soon.

We’re going to miss Abisola but know she will bring so much to her future endeavours. Please join us in giving her our sincerest best wishes. Her last day with AFHTO will be April 14 – any questions related to her work can be directed to info@afhto.ca.

PCC submission re Bill 60, Your Health Act, 2023

On Mar. 27, members of the PCC including AFHTO presented our submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy on Bill 60, Your Health Act, 2023. “We are committed to working with the government on health policy that will uphold the principles necessary to provide Ontarians with the care they need. This submission highlights further clarification and recommendations regarding Bill 60 to ensure an equitable and sustainable approach to the delivery of care provided under this act.” Read the submission here.

Reminder- CPS Full Access free trial ends April 1

On Feb. 23, we sent an email, “Introducing our new benefit- discount on CPS Full Access”, to all member EDs and Admin Leads. If you spend time clarifying prescriptions, use CPS Full Access, a Canadian-developed platform that features up-to-date Canadian information such as:

• Current drug shortages.
• Health Canada–approved product names, indications, dosing and patient information.
• Warnings, recalls and safety alerts.
• Evidence-based therapeutic content and algorithms.
• Drug tables with price ranges.  

This is a reminder that the free trial expires April 1. After that, members can get a 40% discount. Login information for the trial is available on our site at the triad level only (i.e., accessible just to EDs/Admin Leads, lead clinicians and board members). This benefit is being offered on a trial basis for a year, at which time we will assess participation rates. If you have any questions, please feel free to email info@afhto.ca.

Chronic noncancer pain management: Integration of a nurse-led program in primary care

Problem addressed Chronic noncancer pain is often excessively managed with medications (most notably opioids) instead of nonpharmacologic options or multidisciplinary care—the gold standards.

Objective of program To offer an effective alternative to pharmacologic management of chronic noncancer pain in primary care.

Learn more about the successful integration of this nurse-led program at Bruyère Academic FHT.

DFCM New Horizons Speaker Series with Dr. Kwame McKenzie, Mar. 31, 2023
Join a conversation with Dr. Kwame McKenzie, CEO of Wellesley Institute and Professor of Psychiatry at U of T, on how family doctors and primary care providers can better link their work in education, research, and quality improvement to the social determinants of health, and how to partner with organizations that serve communities to be more socially accountable in their work. Learn more here.

Surgical Site Infections Quality Standard Webinar, Apr. 13, 2023
This session will introduce Ontario Health’s recently released Surgical Site Infections quality standard and describe how it can drive quality improvement and improve care for Ontarians across the health system. Register here.

QI Innovations: Better Data, Better Decisions, Better Outcomes, Apr. 18, 2023
This year’s free QI Innovations conference is for mental health and addiction providers and system planners who are interested in data driven decision making and quality improvement. Register here.

Autistic people and the COVID-19 pandemic – what have we learned so far? Apr. 27, 2023
Hosted by CAMH. Register here.