Improving health care in Ontario
We’re making changes to the health care system to give you better connected, more integrated care.
You deserve better care
We are building a connected health care system to improve the patient and caregiver experience and strengthen local services. These changes will make it easier for you to navigate the health care system and transition between health care providers and places where you receive care, making sure that you don’t feel lost or unsupported.
What it means for you
As we improve our public health care system to provide better connected care, we are putting your needs as a patient front and centre. The new system is being designed to ensure patients receive the best care — no matter when and where they need it.
Watch the following patient stories to see what these changes may mean for you.
Descriptive transcript:
Descriptive transcript:
What’s changing
We are working to improve your health care experience and services so you will have:
- one integrated team of health care providers working together to meet your needs
- smoother transitions between health care providers or places where you receive care
- timely access to your health record
- help navigating the public health care system 24/7
What’s staying the same
As we improve the system and better connect care for patients, you can continue to access the care you need and the providers you trust. The health care services you receive will remain uninterrupted. You can still:
- go to the same doctor
- choose you own provider (for example, doctor, nurse practitioner, or specialist)
- receive care by the same trusted providers as before
- be confident that what is paid for by OHIP today will be paid for by OHIP in the future
- expect excellent service from all health care sectors, from cancer care and organ donation, to home and community care
Who to contact
If you have a health concern, continue to contact your health care provider.
You can also:
Find home care or long-term care
Access community mental health and addictions services
Ontario Health Teams
Ontario Health Teams are a new way to organize and deliver services in local communities to provide patients with better connected care. Under Ontario Health Teams, the health care providers who care for you (including hospitals, doctors and home and community care providers) work together as one coordinated team — no matter where they provide care.
Services they offer
Over time, Ontarians will belong to Ontario Health Teams that coordinate and deliver services to meet individual health care needs. Services will include:
- primary care
- hospital care
- rehabilitative and complex care
- home and community care
- residential long-term care
- palliative care
- mental health and addictions
- health promotion and disease prevention services
- emergency health services
- laboratory and diagnostic services
- midwifery services
- other social and community services
What they’ll do
If you need to see different providers or receive care in different places, your Ontario Health Team will:
- work together to make sure you get the care you need
- know your health history
- be aware of health care services in your area
- help you navigate the system 24/7
- ensure your referrals get to the right place
- provide you with digital options, such as online access to health records, test results and virtual care (for example, video, telephone, e-mail)
Providers will also be able to safely and seamlessly access your health record and share it with other members on the team. This way you’ll never feel like you are discharged from one provider to the next.
How they are supporting Ontario’s response to COVID-19
Thanks to the strong partnerships and efforts to better coordinate care and share resources, Ontario Health Teams have been able to respond more quickly and effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario Health Teams play an important role to ensure you and your local community are protected against COVID-19. They are doing this by:
- supporting Ontario’s vaccine rollout
- staffing assessment and testing centres
- providing resources to communities who need the most support
- expanding digital care options
- supporting long-term care homes and other congregate care settings
- distributing personal protective equipment
One agency
To better connect care for patients across the province, Ontario is coordinating provincial health agencies and specialized provincial programs under a single agency known as Ontario Health.
This will result in:
- one central organization to oversee the health care system
- better experiences for patients and caregivers
- better health outcomes for patients
- better clinical guidance and support for health care providers
- a sustainable health care system for years to come
Learn more about Ontario Health.