Offering Patients a Medical Home – Not a Hallway – and a Stronger Health System

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Healthcare Quarterly 22(3) October 2019

 

Abstract

This article examines three family health teams (FHTs) in different Ontario communities that exemplify the features of a Patient's Medical Home (PMH), a vision developed by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. With PMH supports and foundations in place, these FHTs deliver high-quality care enabled by strong PMH functions: accessible, comprehensive, patient- and family-centred continuous care that is responsive to a community's unique needs. Adhering to PMH principles not only improves patient experience, health outcomes and provider satisfaction but also leads to fewer unnecessary hospital admissions and emergency room visits – system savings and better use of public resources.

Featured FHTs:

  • Marathon FHT's High-Yield Approach to Risk Mitigation and Safety (HARMS): A program for safer opioid prescribing through systematic risk stratification and urine drug testing

  • Markham FHT's Eating Disorders Bridge Program

  • Peterborough FHT: New services improve primary care access to an underserviced region

Authors

  • Leanne Clarke, CEO, Ontario College of Family Physicians
  • Kavita Mehta, CEO, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario.

 

AFHTO members leading Ontario Health Teams

Originally published Jul. 30, 2019. Last updated Dec. 4, 2019

On July 18, 2019, the Minister of Health, Hon. Christine Elliott, hosted a town hall to provide an update on the next steps for becoming an Ontario Health Team (OHT) for those who completed a self-assessment. With more than 150 submissions received, OHTs are being positioned as a new way to deliver care by providing seamless transitions of care for patients and removing barriers for providers.