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Giving Ontarians More Health Care Options

McGuinty Government Providing The Tools To Find More Choices And Greater Access To Care

January 18, 2011

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With the simple click of a mouse or the touch of a smart phone, Ontarians can get to know the health care options in their communities even better.

The province has re-launched the health care options website, which will help all Ontarians locate the health care services that are closest to home, including:

• Family Health Teams – include doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers and dietitians working together as a team to provide seamless access to health care
• Telehealth Ontario – a free, confidential, round-the-clock telephone service people can call to get health advice or general health information from a registered nurse
• Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics – provide ongoing care while promoting disease prevention and healthy living
• Urgent Care Centres – provide immediate care for non life-threatening conditions such as eye injuries, sutures and casts and also provide access to x-rays and laboratory services
• Walk-In Clinics – provide care in non-emergency situations.

The redeveloped website also includes other user-friendly tools that will make it easier for Ontarians to get the health care they need, such as Health Care Connect, which helps people find a doctor or nurse practitioner in their community, and a searchable tool to determine local ER and surgical wait times.

The website also provides information to help newcomers to Ontario learn how to navigate the province’s health care system, provided in 26 different languages.

Knowing their options will allow Ontarians to choose the best health care service for their needs, reducing pressure on emergency rooms. Approximately 40 per cent of all visits to the emergency room are related to less urgent or non-urgent conditions that may be treated elsewhere.

Connecting Ontarians to the right health care is part of the government's Open Ontario Plan to provide more access to health care services while improving quality and accountability for patients.

QUOTES

“We’re giving Ontarians the tools they need to find health care close to home and learn about all the options available to them. We want to make navigating the health care system as simple as possible and empower Ontarians to get to know their health care system better. ”
– Deb Matthews, Health and Long-Term Care Minister

“Today's announcement makes it easier for newcomers to access our health care system.  Offering newcomers health service information online is just one example of how the Ontario government is using new technology to help newcomers succeed.”
– Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

QUICK FACTS

• One million more Ontarians have been attached to a family doctor than in 2003.
• Since 2003, the number of IMGs in Ontario has increased from 4,987 to 6,052 in 2009, which is an increase of 21.4%. Ontario currently offers more training positions and assessments for IMGs than all of the other provinces combined.
• Ontario.ca/HealthCareOptions was originally launched in February 2009. The web site has received more than 1.5 million visits to date.

LEARN MORE

Visit the Health Care Options website.

Check out videos on the Ministry’s YouTube Channel.

Follow Minister Deb Matthews on Twitter.

Visit Ontario’s Newsroom.

backgrounder

Knowing Your Health Care Options Better

Members of the media:

Neala Barton, 416-327-4388
Minister's Office

David Jensen, 416-314-6197
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
ontario.ca/health-news