Overview

The Ontario government is building a connected health care system centered around patients, families and caregivers. These changes will strengthen local services, making it easier for patients to navigate the system and transition between providers.

Ontario Health Teams are a new way of organizing and delivering care that is more connected to patients in their local communities. There are 58 Ontario Health Teams across the province providing full provincial coverage and ensuring that every person in Ontario can have the support of an Ontario Health Team. The goal is to ensure that everyone in Ontario can benefit from better coordinated, more integrated care.

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.

Providers and organizations eligible to become an Ontario Health Team include, but are not limited to, those that provide:

  • primary care (including inter-professional primary care and physicians)
  • acute care (such as in-patient and ambulatory medical and surgical services, including specialist services)
  • home care
  • community support services
  • mental health and addictions services
  • health promotion and disease prevention services
  • rehabilitation and complex care
  • palliative care (such as hospice)
  • residential care and short-term transitional care (such as supportive housing, long-term care homes, or retirement homes)
  • emergency health services
  • laboratory and diagnostic services
  • midwifery services
  • other social and community services and other services, as needed by the population

Supports for Ontario Health Teams

Supports for Ontario Health Teams are for teams at all stages of implementation across various ministry areas and supports partners with expertise in integrated care delivery and population health. The following resources have been developed to support teams in advancing the Ontario Health Teams model:

  • Ontario Health Teams: The Path Forward - New direction for Ontario Health Teams to support their progress towards maturity. This direction promotes greater standardization, informed by lessons learned through Ontario Health Team implementation to date.
  • Primary Care Networks in Ontario Health Teams: Guidance Document – This document outlines the vision for Primary Care Networks and the value they will bring to local primary care providers and communities. It also articulates the clinical priorities and a common set of functions that Primary Care Networks will develop over time.
  • Ontario Health Teams: Guidance for Health Care Providers and Organizations - This document describes the components of the Ontario Health Teams model, the expectations for Ontario Health Teams at maturity, and readiness criteria to become an Ontario Health Team.
  • Ontario Health Team: Full Application - This revised full application is to be completed by teams invited to complete a full application and can be used by any teams to prepare for future submissions.
  • Patient, Family and Caregiver Partnership and Engagement Strategy: Guidance Document - This document provides guidance to Ontario Health Teams as they work to establish their Patient, Family and Caregiver Partnership and Engagement Strategies. The document outlines core elements including content requirements, guiding principles, relevant examples, key resources, and the process for validation and posting once complete. The ministry undertook consultation with key stakeholders to inform the development of this document, including patients, families and caregivers.
  • Primary Care Communications Protocol: Enabling Success through Connecting Primary Care and Physician Partners - This document provides guidance to Ontario Health Teams as they work to establish their communications protocol to connect primary care and physician partners. The ministry undertook consultation with key stakeholders to inform the development of this document, including primary care associations and representatives.
  • Harmonized Information Management Plan (HIMP) Guidance Document - This document provides guidance to Ontario Health Teams as they develop their Harmonized Information Management Plans.
  • Collaborative Decision-Making Arrangements (CDMAs) Guidance Document - This document provides guidance to Ontario Health Teams as they establish collaborative decision-making arrangements as a team.
  • Ontario Health Teams: Digital Health Playbook - This Playbook can be used by Ontario Health Teams to help them understand how to build their digital health plan to support the delivery of integrated care.
  • Ontario Health Teams: Data Supports Guidance Document – This document is supplementary to the attribution data package distributed to approved Ontario Health Teams to support their ongoing implementation efforts. It is intended to provide an overview of the patient attribution methodology used to identify the networks of patients attributed to Ontario Health Teams, an outline of new data enhancements, as well as clear guidance on how to interpret the information within the attribution data package.
  • Patient, Family and Caregiver Declaration of Values for Ontario (Updated: July 2021) - This document is to articulate patient, family and caregiver expectations of Ontario’s health care system. The Declaration is intended to serve as a compass for the individuals and organizations who are involved in health care and reflects a summary of the principles and values that patients, families and caregivers say are important to them. The Declaration is not intended to establish, alter or affect any legal rights or obligations, and must be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with applicable law. Ontario Health Teams are encouraged to adopt the Patient, Family and Caregiver Declaration of Values for Ontario.

An initial group of 12 Ontario Health Teams have been chosen to accelerate their work to deliver home care in their local communities starting in 2025. With support from the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, these teams will start by focusing on seamlessly transitioning people experiencing chronic disease through their primary care, hospital, and home and community care needs.

The initial 12 Ontario Health Teams are:

  • All Nations Health Partners Ontario Health Team, serving Kenora and Sioux-Narrows-Nestor Falls
  • Burlington Ontario Health Team, serving Burlington and surrounding areas
  • Couchiching Ontario Health Team, serving Orillia and area
  • Durham Ontario Health Team, serving Durham region
  • East Toronto Health Partners​ Ontario Health Team, serving East Toronto area
  • Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team, serving Frontenac, Lennox and Addington region, including Kingston, Greater Napanee and surrounding rural communities
  • Greater Hamilton Health Network Ontario Health Team, serving Hamilton area
  • Middlesex London Ontario Health Team, serving Middlesex County and London
  • Mississauga Ontario Health Team, serving Mississauga area
  • Nipissing Wellness Ontario Health Team, serving Nipissing and East Parry Sound.
  • Noojmawing Sookatagaing Ontario Health Team, serving the City and District of Thunder Bay
  • North York Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team, serving North York, Thornhill and Markham

Webinars and events

Visit the OHT Supports Events Calendar for information on learning and engagement events offered through the OHT support partners, including registration links, upcoming events and resources from past events. Resources from ministry hosted webinars are also included below:

Other resources

  • Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE) - an interactive website that provides access to resources, experts and assistance for potential Ontario Health Teams. RISE is supported by the McMaster Health Forum (MHF) and the ministry. The opinions, results and conclusions are those of the MHF and are independent of the ministry.
  • Reading list - a list of articles on lessons learned from integrated models around the world.

Meet the Ontario Health Teams

Contact us

If you have questions about Ontario Health Teams, email ontariohealthteams@ontario.ca.

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