Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3L1
Tel: (416) 205-1345 Fax: (416) 205-1360
Visit our Web Site: http://www.oha.com
January 30, 2012
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care, released earlier today by Health and Long-Term Care Minister Deb Matthews.
“This plan is focused on improving the experiences of Ontarians when they need health care, and it’s one that we embrace,” said Mark Rochon, Interim CEO of the OHA.
Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care includes many ideas that the OHA and hospitals have advocated for, including:
- Setting health system-level goals so that health care providers can plan and marshall the resources necessary to meet them;
- Better integrating family doctors into the health care system, so that the hand-offs between hospitals, doctors, specialists and other health services are improved, and chronic diseases like diabetes are better managed;
- The introduction of a patient-based payments system that would allow health care dollars to follow the patient, and acknowledges the special challenges faced by smaller hospitals; and,
- Expanding access to community-based care, so that patients can receive the health care services they need either in, or close to, their homes, and specialized facilities like hospitals can focus on treating patients with the most complex needs.
“The key challenge now will be in implementing this plan,” said Rochon. “It is important that government, the OHA, and all other health care providers work closely together to identify and remove obstacles to implementation, and ensure that our actions are communicated clearly, transparently, and regularly to the public we serve.”
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For more information:
Alessandra Nigro, OHA Public Affairs
416-205-1592