Chair's Message – PMH and OHT
It is timely that the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) has released the vision document for the Patient’s Medical Home (PMH) 2019. This comes at a time when, in Ontario, we are struggling to understand what the proposed Ontario Health Teams, (OHT), will look like, as the system is being reformed around us.
I think we should look to the CFPC vision as the solution to the Ontario Health Team.
We understand that OHT will need to have primary care, and through research we know that strong primary care leads to better outcomes on a population health basis.
Let’s take it right back to the individual patient and his/her family. What they need for health care is a trusting relationship with a family doctor that is supported by the appropriate infrastructure, and an interdisciplinary team, and is accountable to deliver excellent access to preventive and clinical care, continuity of care, and coordination of care. That practice is part of a community of care that includes specialized care, mental health care, hospital and emergency care, social supports, and long term care, among other things. The CFPC vision refers to this community as the Patient’s Medical Neighborhood.
Now, scale this up, include performance metrics and quality improvement requirements, and you have an Ontario Health Team.
Let me know what you think!
As always, I welcome your feedback and questions at swetmore@uwo.ca or via Twitter @DOCSJW.
