$3.1 billion agreement to improve health care in Ontario, with team-based primary care as a central focus

After months of advocacy with both the federal and provincial governments, AFHTO is pleased to let our members know of a new agreement that will see new investment of $3.1 billion into Ontario’s health care system. This investment includes significant funding to increase access to primary care through creating new primary care teams and boosting access to family doctors and nurse practitioners. Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed the deal that details how the province must spend $3.1 billion in federal funding earmarked for health care.

Primary Care Team Lessons and Patient Virtual Experience During COVID-19

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On Friday, Oct. 23, AFHTO along with our partners presented at Trillium Research Day demonstrating the value of primary care teams' response to COVID-19 and patients' experience with virtual care:

  1. Responding to COVID-19: Understanding How Primary Care Teams Stepped up to Help Support Their Communities and Patients- a. Sandeep Gill, Rachelle Ashcroft, Catherine Donnelly, Simon Lam
  2. Learning from Patients’ Experiences with Synchronous Virtual Encounters in Primary Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study- a.    Rachelle Ashcroft, Simone Dahrouge, Catherine Donnelly, Bridget Ryan, Judith Belle Brown, Lisa Dolovich, Jean Grenier, David Verrilli, JavedAlloo, Jennifer Rayner, Sandeep Gill, Simon Lam, Kavita Mehta
  3. Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 by Generating a Policy-Oriented Action Plan to Strengthen Mental Health Services in Primary Health Care (PHC)- a.    Maya Dancey, Rachelle Ashcroft, Keith Adamson, Toula Kourgiantakis, Anne Kirvan, Lisa Dolovich, Catherine Donnelly, Judy Belle Brown, David Verrilli, Sandeep Gill, Deepy Sur, Kavita Mehta
  4. Oral Presentation - After the Pandemic: Understanding How Primary Care Teams Will Incorporate Learnings from the Pandemic to Support Their Communities and Patients- a.    Sandeep Gill, Catherine Donnelly, Rachelle Ashcroft, Simon Lam, Kavita Mehta

And here's a video of the poster presentation:

A qualitative RE-AIM evaluation of an embedded community paramedicine program in an Ontario Family Health Team

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Background

In 2014, a rural Family Health Team (FHT) in Ontario, Canada embedded a community paramedicine program into their primary care practice to improve care for their complex patients. Community paramedics are health care professionals who extend their role beyond emergency services to provide primary care in home and community settings. The study aims to evaluate the utility of having community paramedics embedded in a rural FHT.

Scoping review of social workers’ professional roles in primary care

By: Rachelle Ashcroft, Keith Adamson, Fred Phelps, Glenda Webber, Benjamin Walsh, Louis-François Dallaire, Deepy Sur, Connor Kemp, Jennifer Rayner, Simon Lam, Judith Belle Brown

Abstract

Objectives Maximising social workers’ contributions to primary care requires clarity about their scope of practice in this context. This scoping review sought to clarify what is known about social work’s scope of practice in primary care settings.

Congratulations to the Bright Lights 2024 Award Winners!

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On October 24 AFHTO named the winners of our thirteenth Bright Lights Awards at our ceremony at our annual conference. These innovators have improved access to primary care through their leadership, outstanding work and significant progress made toward improving the value delivered by interprofessional primary care teams throughout Ontario.