Ultimate Blogging Championship

Tag: government

  • Second Interim Report from the Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine

    The Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine released its second interim report on June 25, 2019, entitled “A Healthy Ontario: Building a Sustainable Health Care System.”

     

    This report contains ten policy recommendations from the council to the government, intended to help the government stay on track as it works to improve the health care system. 

     

    The third recommendation is that primary care be the foundation of an integrated health care system. As examples, the report suggests ensuring OHTs facilitate clinician leadership and support strong partnerships with the primary care sector. 

     

    The report also includes support and recommendations for wrap-around care, comprehensive care plans, and “providers working in a team environment with access to a full continuum of care for their patients, as well as continued professional development support and resources.”

     

    AFHTO is pleased to see the importance of primary care outlined in the second interim report.

     

    The council consulted over 1,500 providers, patients and stakeholders – including AFHTO members – and says it will continue to engage the public on how to improve the health care system as it develops future reports with updates on how these initiatives are improving health care service delivery.

     

     

    Reports and resources:

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Premier Ford Shuffles Cabinet

    MEMO

    To: H+K Clients

    From: Hill + Knowlton Strategies (H+K)

    Date: June 20, 2019

    Almost one year since the Executive Council was sworn-in, the Ford government has made the most significant shuffle of cabinet to date. This larger, 28-member cabinet includes some new faces, while promoting those who have performed well over the past year. As a direct response to some of the challenges in the first year, the government has bolstered capacity in their key priority areas by adding associate ministers to Health, Transportation and Energy.

    Please find the complete attached memo from Hill + Knowlton Strategies to their clients on the cabinet shuffle:

  • Bits & Pieces: NP funding program, OHT webinar, Ministry updates & more

    Bits & Pieces: NP funding program, OHT webinar, Ministry updates & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In this Issue:  
    • Ontario primary health care nurse practitioner program funding update
    • Ontario Health Teams: a primary care perspective
    • Ministry updates and related news
    • OMA information webinar on Ontario Health Teams
    • LeaderShift Conference July 11
    • Seeking physiotherapists’ input
    • NP Patient Choice Award
    • ECHO complex patient management needs assessment survey
    • Environmental scan of social determinants of health and equity in primary care
    • Upcoming events including Primary Care Virtual Community and more

    Ontario primary health care nurse practitioner program funding update
    We have received notice from the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program that it has received confirmation from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care that the program will be funded for a period of two years.

    This will allow the nine universities participating in the program to continue to provide high quality education for students in a fully distributed model across Ontario (in both English and French), accepting an additional 200 students into the schools.

    Ontario Health Teams: a primary care perspectiveOHT webinar june 2019
    Last week’s webinar with Karima Kanani from Miller Thomson LLP reviewed primary care as a key component for Ontario Health Teams, and how this health system reform will impact AFHTO members. Key features of the Connecting Care Act were discussed, as well as OHT requirements, the role of primary care in OHTs, and tips for proactive planning. The presentation and recording are now on our website.

     

    Ministry updates and related news
    Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019: On June 5th, the government introduced legislation that would allow them to manage public sector compensation growth – the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019. The legislation is undergoing public consultations over the summer with the opportunity to provide feedback to the government on the Act.  

    At first glance this appears to be focusing on managing environments with collective agreements, but we know that there are some concerns about the potential impact on our teams, especially in relation to the rollout of next year’s R&R funding. We hope to have a briefing over the summer to get more details and will pass them along when we have more answers.

    Ontario Health Teams Timelines Extended: due to the large volume of self assessment submissions, the timelines for the Ontario Health Teams has been extended

    Assessment process    Dates
    Open call for self-assessments    April 3, 2019
    Deadline to submit self-assessments    May 15, 2019
    Selected groups will be invited to submit a full application    Early July 2019
    Deadline to submit full applications    September 2019
    Announce Ontario Health Team candidates    Fall 2019
    Deadline for Second Round of self-assessments     Fall 2019

    OMA information webinar on Ontario Health Teams
    The OMA is hosting an information webinar on OHTs tonight – the webinar will be led by Dr. Jim Wright, Chief, Economics, Policy & Research, who will be joined by Dara Laxer, Executive Director, Economics, Policy and Research, Jennifer Gold, Director, Legal & Governance and Sarah Hutchinson, OntarioMD, Chief Executive Officer. There will be a presentation providing updates on OHTs followed by questions.

    When: Jun 11, 2019 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
    Register in advance.

    LeaderShift Conference July 11

    Leadershift conference

    The LeaderShift Conference is fast approaching and will welcome the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, the Honourable Christine Elliott. See the schedule at a glance and register here.

    Seeking physiotherapists’ input
    Do you practice as a physiotherapist in a primary health care organization in Ontario (e.g. family health team, community health centre, etc.)? Consider completing this brief survey being led by researchers at Queen’s University. It seeks to describe the current state of physiotherapy integration in primary health care organizations in Ontario. You’ll have a chance to enter a random draw to win a $100 gift-card after completing the survey.

    NP Patient Choice Award
    Nominations for NPAO’s NP Patient Choice Award are submitted by patients, based on
    their description of their nurse practitioner’s professional qualities, approach to patient care and specific stories of dedication and how the nurse practitioner has made a difference in their lives or the lives
    of others. You can post this flyer to encourage patients to submit a nomination. Deadline June 21, 2019.

    ECHO complex patient management needs assessment survey
    Project ECHO Complex Patient Management focuses on helping family physicians and nurse practitioners manage complexity in primary care, particularly where there is a need to integrate physical and mental health guidelines to prioritize care issues, or mental health concerns that are complicated by physical health concerns. Sessions take place via videoconference.

    Help define the educational supports and curriculum that matter to you. Your responses to this short survey will help create the curriculum for the weekly ECHO-CPM sessions here.

    If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Lucy.Trojanowski@camh.ca.

    Environmental scan of social determinants of health and equity in primary care
    Dr. Gary Bloch, St. Michael’s Hospital Academic FHT and Inner City FHT, is carrying out an environmental scan of primary care-based interventions into health inequities and the social determinants of health in Canada.

    Visit our site to find out how you can participate.

    For Patients: A Skill-Building Webinar on The Habits of Highly Effective Patient Partners, June 12, 2019
    In this webinar, HQO will cover how patients can effectively contribute as patient partners in Ontario’s healthcare system. Learn more here.

    Mental health and addiction QI collaborative webinar, June 13, 2019
    Join CMHA, AMHO, and AFHTO for a 4-part webinar series on community and primary care QI projects and initiatives with a focus on mental health and addictions. Register here for the first webinar.

    Primary Care Virtual Community, June 26, 2019
    Attend the second webinar held by AFHTO, OCFP and The Change Foundation. This time, the focus is on the 10 High Impact Actions created in the UK, and the possibilities in Ontario. Learn more here.

    Considerations for Primary Care Teams as a Not-for-Profit Corporation, July 17, 2019
    Join AFHTO & Grant Thornton LLP for their second webinar in the Financial Webinar Series. Register here.

  • Message from the AFHTO President/Board Chair and AFHTO CEO

    Message from the AFHTO President/Board Chair and AFHTO CEO

    To the Leadership Triad:

    The Ontario health care environment is changing – as we move towards better integrated care for our patients through the development of the Ontario Health Teams, AFHTO stays firm in our belief that a strong health care system will only exist if it is built on the foundation of primary care.

    We continue to work on your behalf to educate the government on the importance of interprofessional team-based primary care as part of the solution to end hallway healthcare.

    We are acutely aware that these are challenging times for you, our members. Recently, many of you received letters from the Ministry indicating a ‘right correcting’ of budgets to reflect historical spend over the last three years. This focus on the government’s goal of finding cost savings and efficiencies may have serious implications for our teams and their commitment to delivering patient centred care.

    We strongly encourage you to let us know how the adjustments are impacting your teams and if front line delivery of care is going to be affected.

    In the interest of finding efficiencies the Ministry has also informed us that they will be cutting funding to AFHTO.  Retroactive to April 1st of this fiscal year, AFHTO’s QIDS Program (not the QIDSS in the field) will no longer receive funding support from the Ministry.

    Funded since 2013, AFHTO’s QIDS Program was pivotal in creating a culture of improvement through the implementation of our innovative Data to Decisions (D2D) Program, supporting our QIDSS and teams in the field with knowledge transition events and positioning team-based primary care to be leaders in quality improvement and decision support.

    A lot of that success was due to the phenomenal contributions and dedication from our various team members and we will always be grateful for that enthusiasm and continued support.

    Despite this change in our funding situation, the AFHTO Board remains committed to supporting our teams in QI and knowledge translation. The Board has met and has confirmed that AFHTO’s priorities this year will focus on advocacy, governance support and quality. We are also looking at ways to support our members during these transformative times.

    Despite these very challenging times, AFHTO’s very small team of staff are working hard to provide support and resources to our members to ensure they are ready to lead and continue to be a strong voice with the government and the policy-makers. And we thank each of you for being there to help us tell our story.

    The next few months will be a period of priority setting and re-focus on what matters the most to our members given our current financial constraints but also the daunting health transformation ahead of us.  We are looking at the members to provide guidance and support during these trying times and the Board will update you as we continue to learn more about how team-based primary care is being positioned in the Ontario Health and Ontario Health Team developments.

    As always, thank you for your ongoing support and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and/or concerns.

    Beth signature

    Kavita signature

     

     

     

     

    Beth Cowper-Fung                                                                                                                                            Kavita Mehta

    President and Board Chair, AFHTO                                                                                                                 CEO, AFHTO

  • Bits & Pieces: OHT updates, members’ stories, abstract notifications & more

    Bits & Pieces: OHT updates, members’ stories, abstract notifications & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In this Issue:  
    • Update: Ontario Health Teams
    • Members’ stories
    • AFHTO 2019 Conference presentation notifications sent out
    • Harvard ManageMentor deadline May 30
    • ECHO addictions medicine and psychosocial interventions
    • MOHLTC update: mental health and addictions
    • Today’s the deadline to sign up as IHP session lead
    • OCFP board nominations
    • Upcoming events regarding OHTs and more

    Update: Ontario Health Teams

    The first deadline for OHT submissions has passed, and the self-assessment applications are now being reviewed. Teams that submitted for this first round will hear back from the Ministry in June on the status of their application. The first OHT candidates will be announced in the fall.

    AFHTO continues to add tools and resources to the website. The following were most recently added:

    These are on the Ontario Health Teams page with other tools and resources. If you have any questions, please email us at info@afhto.ca.

    You can also email ontariohealthteams@ontario.ca with questions, and consider signing up for regular Connected Care Updates.  The May 17 update is available here.

    Members’ stories

    Officials from more than 20 agencies, including Couchiching FHT, have been meeting and working together to create a new Ontario Health Team in Orillia.
    <em>Officials from more than 20 agencies, including Couchiching FHT, have been meeting and working together to create a new Ontario Health Team in Orillia.</em>

    Couchiching FHT: Orillia group makes pitch to form Ontario Health Team

    Kawartha North FHT: Kawartha North FHT & Kawartha Lakes groups discuss forming Ontario Health Team

    Essex County NPLC: Essex County NPLC’s Peer-led Workshop Walks through Diabetic Foot Complication Prevention

    St. Michael’s Hospital Academic FHT: St. Michael’s Hospital Academic FHT Physician prescribes money to low-income patients: Vox interview

    AFHTO 2019 Conference presentation notifications sent out
    Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract for concurrent session and poster presentations at the AFHTO 2019 Conference. A notification e-mail has been sent to each contact person so please ensure your group contact has received an e-mail including the words “AFHTO 2019 Conference” in the subject on May 24 or 27, 2019.

    If your contact person has NOT received this notification, please contact info@afhto.ca before Wednesday, May 29, 2019.

    Harvard ManageMentor deadline May 30
    Harvard ManageMentor is a self-directed online-learning program affiliated with the Harvard School of Business. It covers over 40 topics of vital relevance to today’s healthcare managers. Each module helps strengthen specific leadership skills that drive performance and results.

    For demo access:
    •    url: https://courses.edls.com/login.php?url=afhtogroup
    •    username: afhto_demo
    •    password:  harvard (all lower case)

    If you have any questions about Harvard ManageMentor and/or Spark, please contact Candace Dames at cdames@edls.com or (647) 838 2555. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Bryn Hamilton before May 30.

    ECHO addictions medicine and psychosocial interventions
    ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a collaborative model of healthcare education that leverages videoconferencing to empower providers to enhance their knowledge, confidence, and practice. This Fall, CAMH and St. Michael’s Hospital are collaborating on an ECHO that will focus specifically on empowering healthcare and service providers working with clients with substance related addictions. Specifically, this ECHO aims to build capacity in the treatment and management of substance use and addictions.

    They’re currently conducting a needs assessment to better understand the learning priorities of healthcare providers, with the goal of refining our curriculum. If you or someone you know would be interested in participating, please take a few moments to fill out the survey and provide your feedback. Deadline June 4.

    Find out more about ECHO Ontario AMPI here.

    MOHLTC update: mental health and addictions
    Ontario introduced the Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act yesterday. If passed, this act would establish a Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence within Ontario Health and support the province’s participation in the national class action lawsuit British Columbia launched last year against more than 40 opioid manufacturers and wholesalers.

    Read the news release here and Hill+Knowlton’s memo on the subject here.

    Today’s the deadline to sign up as IHP session lead
    Today’s the deadline to sign up as an IHP session lead for the popular individual professional sessions at the AFHTO 2019 Conference, so if you’re interested, please contact Beth MacKinnon by 5:00 p.m.

    OCFP board nominations
    The Ontario College of Family Physicians is currently seeking up to three family physicians to join their Board of Directors. Deadline June 5.

    Ontario Health Teams: a primary care perspective, June 5, 2019
    Lunch and learn session specifically for AFHTO members, hosted in partnership with Karima Kanani (Partner at Miller Thomson LLP). Register here.

    BoneFit Kingston, June 8-9, 2019
    Join the Bone Fit exercise training workshop for health professionals, where you will learn effective and appropriate exercise for people with osteoporosis. Learn more here.

    Mental health and addiction QI collaborative webinar, June 13, 2019
    Join CMHA, AMHO, and AFHTO for a 4-part webinar series on community and primary care QI projects and initiatives with a focus on mental health and addictions. Register here for the first webinar.

    Considerations for Primary Care Teams as a Not-for-Profit Corporation, July 17, 2019
    Join AFHTO & Grant Thornton LLP for their second webinar in the Financial Webinar Series. Register here.

    Integrated People-Centred Care – How? An Overview of the upcoming HSO:76000 Integrated People-Centred Health Systems Standard, June 19, 2019
    HSO will be providing a high-level overview of their upcoming Integrated People-Centered Systems Standard in this webinar. Learn more here.

     

  • Budget Adjustments to Reflect Historical Spend

    Dear Leadership Triad,
     
    We understand letters from the Ministry are being received by some FHTs and NPLCs regarding budget adjustments for this upcoming fiscal year.
     
    In conversation with the Ministry, we were told that a 3-year line-by-line budget analysis was done to teams that have chronically underspent (i.e., teams that have sent back money to the Ministry each year). As a result – and with the government’s goal of finding cost savings and efficiencies in mind – some teams are seeing a reduction in their base budget. This is known as “right correcting” the budget to reflect actual spend. We anticipate that the budget adjustments will affect about 60% of teams.
     
    The Ministry indicated that budgets were reduced by only a proportion of the overall underspend, although the exact amount is not known.
     
    AFHTO has met with the Ministry’s Primary Health Care Branch and with the Minister’s Office to express our concerns, especially for those teams where frontline delivery of care may be affected. To help us better understand and communicate the impact these budget adjustments will have on our teams, please respond to these questions by May 31st:

    • How much of your budget has been reduced?
    • To apply the cost savings, where will you need to make your budget adjustments (i.e., what line items)?
    • Will frontline delivery of care be impacted? If yes, what does that look like?

    We will be collating your responses to feed back to the Ministry and the Minster’s Office, and hope to do so once we receive information from members in the field.
     
    For those who see substantial adjustments, we are seeking clarity on whether you can appeal to get the funds back or if you can reapply for those funds.
     
    As we continue to work with the Ministry and the Minister’s Office, we encourage you speak with your MPP to ensure they know how these budget adjustments will impact care in your community
     
    As always, please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for your ongoing support.

    Kavita Mehta
    Chief Executive Officer, AFHTO

     

    Status

    •  A letter was sent to the ministry on May 31 with members’ concerns and questions.
    • Ministry response was received on July 12.
    • AFHTO has followed up on unanswered questions, including why only FHTs and NPLCs were impacted. A Q&A is being prepared by the ministry and will be posted when received. 
  • Bits & Pieces: AFHTO board nominations, call for IHP session leads & more

    Bits & Pieces: AFHTO board nominations, call for IHP session leads & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In this Issue:  
    • Nominations to the AFHTO Board of Directors open
    • IHP session leads needed for AFHTO 2019 conference
    • Ontario Health Teams: a primary care perspective
    • MOHLTC connected care update
    • Call for participation- delirium & toxicity management
    • Integrated heart failure care – enabling development of Ontario Health Teams
    • Examining the healthcare experiences of foreign-born older Canadians: a pilot study – call for participants
    • Upcoming events regarding CHOGIP benefits and more

    Nominations to the AFHTO Board of Directors open
    Are you interested in serving on the AFHTO board of directors? The Governance Committee of AFHTO’s board invites anyone who works within an AFHTO member organization to apply.

    Five (5) positions are to be elected for a 3-year term on the 14-member AFHTO board. The AFHTO by-laws call for balanced representation on the board to include the various forms of governance, the regions of the province, and the mix of the professions working within FHTs, NPLCs and other interprofessional models of primary care. For more details visit our site and to apply click here. Deadline June 28, 2019.

    IHP session leads needed for AFHTO 2019 conference
    attendees talkin at table

    Planning is on track for the AFHTO 2019 Conference and this includes planning for the interprofessional health provider sessions. We’re currently finalising plans for the group session but need volunteers to lead the popular individual professional sessions.

    Each one-hour session with your peers won’t take place without a lead so if you’re interested, please contact Beth MacKinnon by May 28, 2019.

     

    Ontario Health Teams: a primary care perspective
    Primary care has been identified as a key component for Ontario Health Teams and this health system reform will impact all AFHTO members. Please join us for a lunch and learn session hosted in partnership with Karima Kanani (Partner at Miller Thomson LLP) on Wednesday June 5th 12-1pm. This session held specifically for AFHTO members will cover:

    • Key features of the Connecting Care Act, 2019
    • Ontario Health Team requirements
    • The role of primary care in OHTs
    • Tips for proactive planning

    Register here.

    MOHLTC connected care update7 things re OHTs
    Email sent by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on May 10. Includes ‘7 Things You Need to Know About OHTs’, which includes statements like “Teams should have the ability to deliver coordinated services across at least three sectors of care, especially hospital, home and/or community care, and primary care.” See the email here.

    Call for participation- delirium & toxicity management
    Advisory committee- delirium: Health Quality Ontario, in partnership with the Regional Geriatric Programs of Ontario, is developing a new quality standard outlining quality care for adults who have or may have delirium.

    They’re seeking volunteers to help support and drive the development of this work. Apply by May 20, 2019.

    Toxicity management models of care working group: Cancer Care Ontario is seeking GPO, GP and Nursing representation for a Models of Care Working Group to improve the delivery of toxicity management for adult cancer patients currently undergoing systemic and radiation treatment. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Ada Payne, Lead, Models of Care at ada.payne@cancercare.on.ca by May 17, 2019.

    Integrated heart failure care – enabling development of Ontario Health Teams
    Heart failure (HF) has high health system costs, poor patient outcomes, and complex care transitions among primary and community care, and acute care. CorHealth Ontario’s ‘Roadmap for Improving Integrated HF Care in Ontario’, and Implementation Toolkit details how to improve HF care in the community, reduce ‘hallway medicine’ and begin Ontario Health Team (OHT) formation.

    As the OHT submission deadline approaches, CorHealth invites primary care teams to learn more about integrated heart failure care, as an enabler for partnerships in OHT development. For more information, visit www.corhealthontario.ca or email service@corhealthontario.ca.

    Examining the healthcare experiences of foreign-born older Canadians: a pilot study – call for participants
    Although foreign-born older adults (immigrant seniors) are at a higher risk for certain chronic diseases and negative health conditions, limited Canadian studies have examined healthcare experiences of foreign-born older adults (FBOAs), and few have developed or proposed practical solutions to support patient engagement, system navigation, and care coordination.

    The University of Waterloo is reaching out to community organizations and partners to seek their preliminary guidance and perspectives for an exploratory study. For more details visit our site. If you’re interested in participating or if you have any questions please contact Alison Kernoghan (alison.kernoghan@uwaterloo.ca).

    CHOGIP Benefits webinar, May 22, 2019
    Looking to switch dental and health benefit providers? AFHTO is pleased to present CHOGIP choice and voice benefit services to our members. Gallagher Benefit services will be presenting an overview in this webinar. Register here.

    ROI Stories of Entrepreneurship Webinar Series, May 28 – June 20, 2019
    Participate in the conversation around entrepreneurship by rural Ontario community organizations. This 4-part webinar series highlights case studies and are free of charge to attend. Find out more here.

    Wounds Canada: New Perspectives in Diabetic Limb Preservation Symposium, May 31, 2019
    Join the first Diabetic Limb Preservation Symposium held by Wounds Canada in Toronto. This event is aimed at primary care practitioners and specialists working on patients with lower limb complications that can lead to amputation. Learn more here

    Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care
    Register for an online CE course for prescribers & pharmacists to help HCPs optimize antibiotic use in common clinical scenarios. Find out more here.

  • Susan Fitzpatrick Named Interim CEO of Ontario Health

    On April 24 Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, announced that Susan Fitzpatrick will assume the role of interim CEO of Ontario Health, the new superagency which will ensure a consistency of care across Ontario.

    Susan Fitzpatrick was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) in 2015, following a career in the Ontario Public Service that spanned more than three decades. Prior to joining the LHIN, Susan was Associate Deputy Minister, Health System Delivery and Implementation, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. As Associate Deputy Minister, Susan was responsible for bringing together health programs in LHINs, CCACs, Long-term Care and Physician Services, and creating alignment opportunities in order to deliver quality health services to patients.

    Prior to her role at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Susan was the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Negotiations and Accountability Management Division and the General Manager of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan where she led significant policy achievements.

    Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Queen’s University.

    Relevant Links

  • R&R Funding Letters Rolling Out Soon

    Dear Executive Directors and Admin Leads,

    We received word late Friday afternoon that the FY 2019-20 recruitment and retention letters will be rolling out in the next month or so. Annual Operating Plans (AOPs) will be released shortly as well. As we learn more information, we will share with you, but we are pleased to see that the R&R investment made in the 2018 Ontario Budget is still committed.

    Background Documents:

  • 2019 Ontario Budget Overview

    Today the PC government released their first Ontario Budget entitled  “Protecting What Matters Most”. In this budget, the government spoke about a foundation of four clear priorities:

    • First – Restoring accountability and trust by introducing a credible, sustainable and fully costed plan that will return the province to fiscal balance in five years.
    • Second – Protecting what matters most by adopting bold new ways to deliver services in areas of health care and education, while supporting our front-line workers.
    • Third – Putting people first by making life more affordable and convenient with a new Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit, a plan to make auto insurance more accessible and affordable, an expanded rapid transit system, and a reduced Estate Administration Tax.
    • Fourth – Making Ontario Open for Business and Open for Jobs by lowering business costs, and making it easier for employers to hire workers and for workers to find a job.

    The focus on health included mainly investments in hospitals, long-term care, home and community care and mental health and addictions. There was also a focus on reducing inefficiencies by streamlining back-office functions and the mention of the implementation of a digital first strategy which will increase the use of virtual care in the province.  

    There was no mention of any further investments in primary care nor was there any mention of the already committed recruitment and retention funding made in last year’s budget so we will work with our Ministry colleagues to get further information on that.
     
    In the meantime, please find attached a brief on the health care commitments made in the 2019 budget. Further information, including H&K’s synopsis, will be uploaded on our website once we receive it.   
     
    Additional information: