Ultimate Blogging Championship

Tag: Policy Issues

  • Primary care recruitment and retention: Letter to Premier and Finance Minister

    The Ontario Government has not yet declared whether it will extend the Public Sector Compensation Restraint Act beyond its current expiry date of March 31.  As part of our joint advocacy to address the challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff in primary care, AFHTO, in partnership with the Association of Ontario Health Centres and the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario, has sent a letter to Premier McGuinty and Minister Duncan urging Government to avoid extending this freeze on compensation and for immediate action to enable the HOOPP pension plan to be offered to primary care staff. Click here to read the letter.

  • Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care: Highlights for primary care

    The Minister made two presentations today, an early-morning prelude for a healthcare audience and the lunchtime launch of Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care hosted by the Board of Trade.  Below you’ll find links to the full plan and related communications pieces, as well as a bullet-point summary of the Action Plan. The general direction of the Action Plan is consistent with the content of AFHTO’s presentation to the Drummond Commission (http://www.afhto.ca/news/afhto%E2%80%99s-submission-to-drummond-commission-on-broader-public-sector-reform/ ). In particular, the Action Plan points to the critical role of primary care as the “natural anchor for patients in our health system”, a focus on quality in primary care, and the need for more formal connections between primary care organizations and other entities to coordinate care. In our Drummond submission AFHTO went further to identify the need to support the critical enablers required for primary care to play its full role in the health system: leadership, team based care, information systems and clinician involvement.  FHTs are well-positioned, and with some evolution and support, could play a key role in advancing health system transformation at the local, regional and provincial levels. Of these enablers, “information” is the one that is the least well-developed – FHTs need sufficient support to collect, manage, analyze and act on data to improve access, improve outcomes, and deliver better value for money. Details for implementing the Action Plan remain to be developed. To get a read on this, I had the opportunity to compare notes with leaders from a number of other health associations, have a follow up meeting with the primary care lead in the Minister’s Office, and exchange a few words with the Minister. Despite the Toronto Star’s report that “Matthews hopes to achieve this by placing the provinces’ 200 family health teams under the control of Ontario’s 14 local health integration networks,” the Minister’s Office confirmed that the processes, accountability and funding relationships would be developed with key stakeholders such as AFHTO, to meet the goal of creating a more seamless journey for patients through the LHINs. For the most part FHTs have developed their own LHIN-based networks – AFHTO will be tapping into these networks for advice, direction and assistance as this implementation goes forward. Other areas that AFHTO will be monitoring include the implementation plans around access, house calls, funding reform, and the concept of “Care Coordinators” for seniors recovering after hospital stays to reduce readmissions.  Having touched base with colleagues at the Ontario Association of CCACs, it’s not yet known whether the Care Coordinator is seen to be a role within a CCAC, hospital or primary care. AFHTO’s overall assessment of the Action Plan is posted at http://www.afhto.ca/news/afhto-welcomes-ontario%E2%80%99s-focus-on-family-and-community-care/ . We are pleased with the general direction, and look forward to collaborating with the Ministry and others to work out the details that will lead to sustainable improvement. Links:

    Quick summary of Action Plan (Courtesy the Minister’s Office) Faster Access and a Stronger Link to Family Health Care

    • Family Health Care at the Centre of the System:  Through the LHINs, we will hold the entire health system accountable for substantial progress towards fewer hospital readmissions.
    • Faster Access: More patients will have access to same-day and next-day appointments and after-hours care. This means better care for our patients and less strain on other areas of our health care system.
    • House Calls: We will be expanding access to house calls from health care professionals, like doctors, nurses, and occupational therapists. We will also be improving access to online and phone consultations.
    • Local Integration of Family Health Care: We will integrate family health care planning under the LHINs. Together, we will identify a model that brings planning and accountability for the full patient journey. However, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care will continue to have a funding role with Ontario’s doctors.
    • A Focus on Quality in Family Health Care: We will expand our focus on quality improvement to family health care, and ensure that all family health care providers are equipped to integrate the latest evidence based care into their practice.

    Right Care, Right Time, Right Place

    • High Quality Care: Evidence will drive our decisions and it will drive our funding. IF there is evidence to support a new procedure or test, we will fund it. We will also continue to find ways to fully maximize the potential of our range of health care professionals.
    • Timely, Proactive Care: We will implement our mental health strategy starting with children and youth, including getting mental health nurses into our schools, supporting people with eating disorders, and smoothing the transitions of people between mental health care providers.
    • Seniors Strategy: We will launch a Seniors Strategy with an intense focus on supporting seniors to stay healthy and stay at home longer, reducing strain on hospitals and long-term care homes. It will include:
      • An expansion of house calls
      • More access to home care through an additional 3 million Personal Support Worker hours
      • Care Co-ordinators that will work closely with health care providers to make sure the right care is in place for seniors recovering after hospital stays to reduce readmissions.
      • The Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit, which will support seniors in adapting their home to meet their needs as they age, so they can live independently at home, longer.
      • Empower LHINs with greater flexibility to shift resources where the need is greatest, such as home or community care.
    • Moving Procedures into the Community: We will shift more procedures out of hospital and into non-profit community-based clinics if it will mean offering patients faster access to high-quality care at less cost. We will not compromise on quality, oversight, or accountability.
    • Funding Reform: Funding must follow the patient. We will accelerate the move to patient-based payment, as patients move through our health care system.

    Keeping Ontario Healthy

    • Childhood Obesity Strategy: We will take on the challenge to reduce childhood obesity by 20 per cent over five years. Success on this front will require partnership, so we will bring together a panel of advocates, health care leaders, non-profit organizations, and industry to develop the strategy to meet our target.
    • Online Cancer Risk Profile: All Ontarians will have access to an online Personalized Cancer Risk Profile that will us medical and family history to measure risk of cancer and then link people at higher risk to screening programs, prevention supports, or genetic testing.
    • Expanded Screening: We will expand our comprehensive screening programs for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer to notify and remind participants when they are due for their next screening.