Minister Announces Health Link – details to come later

Jeff Green | Dec 13, 2012

In a surprise announcement, the Ontario Ministry of Health announced a new initiative last Thursday. “Health Link” is designed to co-ordinate the “care for high-needs patients such as seniors and people with complex conditions” according to a ministry release.

Among the stated goals of the program are: “Improved access to family care for seniors and patients with complex conditions; Reducing avoidable emergency room visits; Reducing unnecessary re-admission to hospitals shortly after discharge; Reducing time for referral from primary care doctor to specialist appointments; and Improving the patient's experience during their journey through the health care system.”

The initiative takes its cue from the recognition that a small percentage of the population makes use of a disproportionately high share of health care services and dollars, and better co-ordination of care for these people would improve outcomes and save health care dollars.

Health Links are being established in 19 locations throughout the province, three of which are located in the region of the Southeast Ontario Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

Frontenac and rural Lennox and Addington Counties are one of the early adopter areas.

The Rural Kingston Family Health Organization (FHO), which inlcudes the primary care clinics in Sydenham, Verona, Newburgh, and Tamworth as well as the Family Health Teams in Sharbot Lake and Northbrook, is the co-ordinating agency for the region.

Lynn Wilson, the administrater for the Rural Kingston FHO, did not have a lot of lead time before the announcement was made last Thursday – having received an email only a few days earlier. She also did not receive any communication from the ministry or the Local Health Integration Network about how Health Link will roll out in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties. A meeting of primary heath care practitioners with Dr. Jonathan Kerr (lead physician), and Paul Huras (CEO) of the Southeast LHIN has been scheduled for Dec 20.

Health Link partners in Frontenac and L&A will likely include, in addition to Rural Kingston family care physicians, the Southeast Community Care Access Centre, Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospitals, Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, the Perth hospital and local community service agencies.

“I expect that we will focus on chronic heart care, obesity, and other issues in an attempt to enchance the ageing at home program in Frontenac and L&A, but we will have to see what Doctor Kerr says next week before we know where this is all headed,” said Wilson.

The timing of the announcement of the Health Link program is interesting as well, since there is a vacuum at the centre of Ontario politics with the prorogation of the legislature, and a pending election once the governing Liberal Party chooses a new leader in February.

The Conservative Party, led by Tim Hudak, has vowed to eliminate the LHINs if his party attains power.