February 2024 Newsletter

February Newsletter Highlights

Leap Day Mix And Mingle for Family Practice & Specialists

Join us for our Leap Day Mix & Mingle on Thursday, February 29th 5.00PM-8.00PM.
Meet your specialist & family practice colleagues in-person at the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre, Michael Garron Hospital with Free parking and Refreshments.
Please Register for the event here!
View the flyer here!!

OHT Acceleration Update

On September 27, Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, the Honourable Sylvia Jones, announced that ETHP was selected as one of 12 OHTs to accelerate the OHT model for Ontario.
The 12 accelerator OHTs have started to meet with the Ministry and Ontario Health to understand what will be expected of us and how we will work together. To know more, click here.
The Ministry is making a 3-year funding commitment to all OHTs. For the 12 accelerator OHTs, we will receive additional one-time funding in the current year, including funds to design our integrated care pathways.

Pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccinations to Ages 5-and-under & 2-and-under

Preventing Falls and Reducing Injuries from Falls

Did you know that falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among seniors in Canada?
ETHP Falls Prevention Toolkit consists of a series of handouts to empower seniors to prevent falls at home.
The toolkit is intended for providers, but the handouts can be found on ETHP’s website. Please share them with relevant colleagues, teams, neighbors, friends and family.

Continuing Medical Education (CMEs)

Missed the CME on Billing Codes? Watch the recording here!
Presentations on Family Practice Billing can be found HERE and for SCOPE Hospital & Palliative Billing HERE.
Join this hybrid CME event designed to equip primary care providers with information on best practices in breast health. To know more and Register, click here!

Webinar Recording on Primary Networks in OHTs by Ministry of Health & Ontario Health

Watch here a webinar on Primary Care Networks in OHTs organized on January 24th by the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health.
For Webinar Materials In English, click here
For Webinar Materials In French, click here

OCEAN eReferral Updates

Several new sites are now actively accepting referrals via Ocean:

Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is now accepting eReferrals for its Endocrinology Clinic and Gynecology Program.
For a complete list of WCH services live on eReferral, search “Women’s College” on the Ocean Healthmap.
KMH Cardiology Centres provide Cardiology, Nuclear Medicine, MRI, PET/CT and cardiology consultations (both virtually and in-person); they are now accepting eReferrals at their Toronto, North York, and Scarborough locations.
MGH continues to accept eReferrals for the majority of its services, including the Endocrinology Clinic, Cardiology, Heart Function and Pacemaker Clinics, as well as for Diagnostic Imaging (x-ray, ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine, bone density scans, CT, and MRI).
MGH’s Outpatient Adult Mental Health Clinic offers a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services; primary care providers are encouraged to send eReferrals instead of faxing; search “Outpatient Mental Health” on the Ocean Healthmap.

Online Appointment Booking (OAB) Funding

Additional funding is available until March 2024 to help primary care practices adopt OAB; providers who have never implemented OAB licenses are eligible for funding
OAB solutions are designed to reduce the administrative workload around appointment bookings, by enabling patients to electronically book appointments with their family doctors and nurse practitioners and receive automated confirmations and reminders
Click here for more information and to apply.

Secure Messaging Pilot

Ontario Health is running a Secure Messaging Pilot to pay family doctors to connect with patients or caregivers when conducting "clinical services" (ie. full assessments of a health concern, including management and/or advice related to the health concern) via secure messaging using specific pre-approved vendor platforms.
This pilot does not pay for other types of messaging interactions, such as sending results, or scheduling appointments for example. And, this is only for patients who have an existing/ongoing relationship with their family physician. There are a number of other stipulations listed here.
You can register to participate any time before July 31st, 2024.

UofT Department of Community and Family Medicine Primary Care Job Board

Practice Supports and Patient Resources

Recognizing Cervical Awareness Screening Month - January marked the Cervical Awareness Screening Month, click on the link for Cervical Screening Resources.
Become an EasT-FPN member to receive clinical and practice support, and opportunities to engage with the East Toronto community. Please fill out the Membership application form to become a member.