About OHTs

What are Ontario Health Teams?

Ontario Health Teams provide a new way of organizing and delivering care that is more connected to patients in their local communities. Under Ontario Health Teams, health care providers (including hospitals, doctors, and home and community care providers) work as one coordinated team - no matter where they provide care.

What’s changing?

With the new Ontario Health Team model, patients will have:

  • one integrated team of health care providers working together to meet the patient’s needs
  • a medical record that both patients and their providers can access easily
  • help in navigating the public health care system 24/7

What’s staying the same?

While improvements are made to the system, patient’s can continue to access the care they need and the providers they trust. The health care services patients receive will remain uninterrupted.

Patients can still:

  • go to the same doctor
  • choose their own provider (for example, doctor, nurse practitioner or specialist)
  • receive care by the same trusted providers as before
  • be confident that what is paid for by OHIP today will be paid for by OHIP in the future
  • expect excellent service from all health care sectors, from cancer care and organ donation, to home and community care

Which providers make up an Ontario Health Team?

An Ontario Health Team is made up of health care providers from several sectors, including, but not limited to:

  • family doctors and nurse practitioners
  • other primary care including family health teams and community health centres
  • hospitals
  • home and community care
  • long-term care
  • mental health and addictions services
  • health promotion and disease prevention services
  • rehabilitation and complex care
  • palliative care (including hospice)
  • emergency health services (including ambulance/paramedicine services)