How DDO Can Assist Your Ontario Health Team
In the Second Report from the Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine, the Premier’s Council offered 10 recommendations on how Ontario might achieve a healthcare system that is modern, sustainable, integrated and centred on the patient. It will be incumbent on Ontario Health Teams (“OHTs”), as the primary providers of front line health care services, to be examples of how the Council’s recommendations can be put into practice.
Our Experience & Expertise
DDO Health Law has the experience and expertise to help OHTs implement many of these recommendations in practical, effective and cost efficient ways.The
The Premier’s Council Recommendations
1. Integration
Recommendations 1-3 are focused on creating a healthcare system that is integrated around patients and across providers. The system should provide (i) more accessible and effective information to patients, families and caregivers and (ii) health services providers that can guide patients through a full continuum of health care services.
DDO can assist OHTs with:
Accessible and Effective Information
- Obtaining patient consent
- Disclosure of information to family and caregivers
- Sharing of information across health care providers
- How patient information may be made available for research purposes
- Policies and procedures related to consent and handling of personal health information
- Template documents for obtaining consent and for protecting and sharing information
- Training staff on consent and privacy requirements
Integration of Health Service Providers
- Collaborative governance mechanisms, e.g. multi-organization steering committees
- Moving towards long-term integration, e.g., shared committees, boards or full-on merger/amalgamation
- Contractual arrangements for shared services and collaborative initiatives
- Sharing of electronic health records between health services providers
2. Innovation
Recommendations 4 and 5 are attempts to modernize the healthcare system to better use current technology and to expand on the pathways by which healthcare has traditionally been provided.
DDO can assist OHTs with:
- Providing virtual health care in accordance with applicable laws
- Creating inter-professional care teams
- Seeking required approvals for the provision of home and community care services
- Providing home and community care services in accordance with applicable laws (including privacy and consent requirements)
- Purchase and use of innovative software and equipment for patient care
3. Efficiency and Alignment
Recommendations 6-8 propose means of creating a healthcare system that: (i) strategically collects and uses data in a manner that will improve health outcomes and (ii) coordinates services to allow for increased value for taxpayer dollars.
DDO can assist OHTs with:
- Sharing data and electronic health records
- Using data for research and quality improvement purposes
- Methods of collaborative governance
- Co-location options
- Sharing of management and front-line staff
- Integration of administrative and procurement services
- Integrating health services through services agreements and inter-professional care teams
- Electronic referral processes
4. Capacity
Recommendations 9 and 10 consider how short- and long-term capacity issues might be better addressed by maximizing assets and skills that are currently available. The recommendations propose that collaborative leadership and integrated care are keys to maximizing the benefits of available assets.
DDO can assist OHTs with:
- Shared governance models
- Inter-professional care models
- Data sharing
- The procurement and use of innovative tools that allow for integrated care
For more information, please contact mgleeson@ddohealthlaw.com.