Improving health care in Ontario

You deserve better care

We are building a connected health care system to improve the patient, family 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.

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• Marina’s story

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• Gloria’s story

What’s changing

We are working to improve your health care experience and services so you will have:

• integrated teams 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 your 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

Introduced in 2019, Ontario Health Teams are a better way to organize and deliver services in local communities to provide patients with better connected, more integrated 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 making it faster and easier for people to connect to the care they need in their own communities

Thanks to the strong partnerships and efforts to better coordinate care and share resources, Ontario Health Teams are starting to help people in Ontario experience better connected care from their providers with one patient record and one care plan that follows them wherever they go.

They are doing this by expanding digital care options, helping patients navigate the local services available to them, and making transitions from hospital to home or the community more convenient.