AFHTO Calls for Action on Government's Primary Care Guarantee

800 Primary Care Providers meet in Toronto to share best practices and push for enhanced primary care.

TORONTO, Oct. 16, 2014  /CNW/ - The Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) called for the Wynne government to take action to implement one of its election commitments: a guarantee that every Ontarian has access to primary care.

"When patients have access to high quality, team-based primary care they stay healthier longer, get sick less, and we save the health system money by staying out of hospital," said Angie Heydon, Executive Director of AFHTO. "Evidence from around the world, and more recently in Ontario, demonstrates that the introduction of primary care teams are providing patients with better care, at the best value."

The Association's members provide primary care in over 200 communities, serving over 3.5 million patients throughout Ontario. AFHTO announced support for the government's election commitment to guarantee timely access to primary care in Ontario. They also rolled out several key solutions they believe will help ensure the government meets the commitment:

• Introduce immediate measures to help primary care teams recruit and retain health care professionals like dietitians and nurse practitioners that are leaving primary care
• Expand access to interprofessional primary care teams in the province
• Enhance the capacity of primary care teams to measure and track patient outcomes

The annual conference is taking place October 15 and 16 in Toronto. During the conference AFHTO also announced their third annual Bright Lights Awards, which recognize individuals for their leadership and work to improve the value of services delivered by primary care teams in Ontario. Winners were selected from over 60 submissions in a nomination process that took place in August of this year.

A full list of winners can be found here.

About AFHTO: The Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario is a not for profit organization representing Ontario's interprofessional primary care teams. AFHTO works to support the implementation and growth of primary care teams by promoting best practices, sharing lessons learned, and advocating on their behalf. Evidence and experience shows that team-based comprehensive primary care is delivering better health and better value to patients.

Image with caption: "Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) (CNW Group/Santis Health)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141016_C2017_PHOTO_EN_6783.jpg

SOURCE: Santis Health

Sarah Soteroff, Senior Communications Consultant, Santis Health, [phone], [email protected]