Welcome to the Ontario Health Association's (OHA) resource page developed to provide an overview of the supports, resources and services available to hospital legal counsel and risk management leads.
About the OHA
Established in 1924, the OHA is a not-for-profit member association that serves as the voice of the province's public hospitals, supporting them through advocacy, member engagement and knowledge transfer, labour relations, and data and analytics, with the goal of helping hospitals build a better health system. The OHA is also attuned to the broader strategic questions facing the future of the province's health care system and we work to ensure Ontario's hospitals have a voice in shaping this longer-term vision.
Through direct engagement with our hospital members, the OHA works to identify common challenges and develop tailored solutions that support the health care system's sustainability and effectiveness. Our member-driven approach ensures that hospitals have access to the latest legislative updates, compliance tools, and strategic guidance.
Key Functions: Legal, Regulatory and Governance Support
The OHA plays a key role in providing hospitals with legal, regulatory, and governance support. We actively work with government agencies, regulatory bodies, and health care stakeholders to ensure that hospitals can effectively navigate legislative and policy changes. Our advocacy efforts are aimed at ensuring that hospital perspectives are included in key decision-making processes, to ultimately serve the health system.
We provide hospitals with regular updates on legislative and regulatory changes that impact health care delivery and hospital operations. Through the OHA's legislative and regulatory summaries, legal backgrounders, and compliance toolkits, hospitals receive the necessary resources to stay informed about the evolving landscape.
Governance is a crucial aspect of hospital leadership, and the OHA helps hospital boards and executives implement best practices. Additionally, we offer assistance with credentialing, board governance, and broader health system issues to ensure that hospitals uphold high standards of leadership and accountability.
Popular Resources
Below is a list of key OHA resources that were designed for legal counsel and risk management leads.
Guide to Hospital Statutory Compliance: This Guide consolidates key statutory requirements for hospitals into one place for easy reference and to help ensure hospitals stay informed of their legal obligations, reduce risk exposure and implement effective compliance measures.
Legislative Summaries: Between three and four times a year, the OHA publishes a legislative summary compiling many recent legislative changes, regulatory activity, resources/backgrounders and upcoming legislative/regulatory initiatives. While these initiatives have been communicated via various OHA bulletins over time, this resource serves as a helpful, “one-stop-shop" of this information. Please see below for recent summaries:
Backgrounders and Guidance Documents: The OHA publishes various backgrounders which include an overview of a particular piece of legislation, policy, or issue, distilling key highlights for members. Below is a list of recent backgrounders and guidance documents:
For more information about the OHA's resources, visit the OHA Guidance and Resources page or follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Sign Up for the OHA's Weekly Bulletin
Stay up to date on these resources by signing up for the OHA's weekly Services, Resources, Guidance (SRG) bulletin, published every Thursday. This bulletin shares brief updates from the OHA and from across the system, including government, that are relevant to hospitals.
If you would like to receive the OHA's SRG bulletin, please contact tharel@oha.com to be added to the distribution list.
Questions?
The OHA welcomes your questions, feedback and opportunities for collaboration. Please feel free to reach out to the OHA's legal, regulatory and governance issues team. We are also happy to set up a briefing call to introduce you to the OHA team members.
