Overview

As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, Ontario is continuing to expand community-based surgeries and procedures to connect more people to the care they need faster and closer to home.

Our goal is to make health care more convenient for Ontarians by:

  • expanding the number of community surgical and diagnostic centres
  • cutting wait times for services like MRI and CT scans and cataract surgeries
  • increasing the scope of practice for the province’s highly skilled workforce to give people more options of where they can access they care they need

Surgical and diagnostic centres

For 30 years, community surgical and diagnostic centres (formerly known as Independent Health Facilities) have been a part of Ontario’s publicly funded health care system. These community-based health care centres are licensed to provide a range of OHIP-insured services under the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act (ICHSCA). There are currently over 900 licensees in operation throughout Ontario, with the majority of them providing diagnostic imaging services.

Services offered by community surgical and diagnostic centres include:

  • cataract and other eye surgeries
  • plastic surgeries (OHIP insured)
  • minimally invasive gynecological surgery
  • abortion
  • birth centres
  • dialysis
  • routine diagnostic imaging such as x-ray and ultrasound
  • MRI/CT and PET scans
  • nuclear medicine
  • pulmonary function studies
  • sleep studies

Learn more about community surgical and diagnostic centres.

How to apply to become a community surgical and diagnostic centre

Call for applications

New centres are created through a call for applications process, under the provisions of the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act (ICHSCA).

A total of 3 calls for applications are taking place to expand ICHSCs for:

  • Orthopedic surgeries (open now)
  • GI Endoscopy procedures (closed)
  • MRI/CT imaging services (closed)

Orthopedic surgeries call for applications

Currently, there are no community surgical and diagnostic centres that are licensed to provide orthopedic surgeries in Ontario.

That is why we are issuing a province-wide call for applications to license community surgical and diagnostic centres to be able to provide orthopedic surgeries, specifically primary unilateral hip and knee replacement procedures.

This will make it easier and faster for people to access the publicly funded orthopedic surgeries they need, close to home.

How to apply

  1. Review the Orthopedic Surgeries application guidelines
  2. Download the Orthopedic Surgeries application form
  3. Email the completed application to ICHSC.Applications@ontario.ca as per the guidelines

Application deadline

The deadline to apply is August 27, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). A confirmation email will be sent to applicants once we receive their application.

Eligibility

All eligibility information can be found in the 'Applicant eligibility' section within the application guidelines document. The call for applications is open to all applicants including:

  • new centres seeking to become an ICHSC
  • existing ICHSCs seeking to be licensed for an additional service(s)
  • public hospitals that meet the minimum eligibility requirements as set out in the application guideline

Applying for multiple health facilities

If you are applying for multiple health facilities, you must submit separate applications for each facility. Each application will be evaluated separately.

We do not have a predetermined number of licences to be issued. The number of new orthopedic surgery licences issued through this call will be informed by consideration of regional needs at the time of licensing.

Joint application

Applicants may choose to submit a joint application with another corporation or organization. Note, an ICHSC licence held by a corporation can only be held by a single corporation.

How we evaluate applications

We will review all applications received by the application submission deadline.

The evaluation panel will evaluate all applications that are:

  • complete
  • have not been disqualified
  • that meet the minimum eligibility requirements

Applications will be evaluated based on criteria set out in:

  • the call materials (application form and application guidelines)
  • the legislation
  • the regional need for orthopedic surgeries

We may consult with other health sector partners (for example, Ontario Health) in relation to content and feasibility of the application.

All applicants, including unsuccessful applicants, will receive written notice from the ministry about the decision on their application. Please refer to the application guidelines document for additional detail on the evaluation process.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Email your questions about the call for applications process, guidelines or application form, to ICHSC.Applications@ontario.ca by July 16, 2025, 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

Responses to questions about the call for application process, application guidelines and/or the application form will be integrated into this webpage so all potential applicants may benefit from the information.

Application resources

Contact

You can contact the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Program by:

  • mail:           
    Ministry of Health
    Health Insurance Branch
    Integrated Community Health Services Centres Program
    49 Place d’Armes, 5th Floor           
    Kingston ON K7L 5J3
  • phone: 613-548-6637
  • fax: 613-548-6734
  • email: ICHSC@ontario.ca

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