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- Page navigation anchor for RE: Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario Response to Impact of Team-Based Care on Emergency Department UseRE: Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario Response to Impact of Team-Based Care on Emergency Department Use
February 11, 2022
Dear Dr. Kiran, Dr. Moineddin, Mr. Kopp and Dr. Glazier,
On behalf of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), I would like to thank you for this research and further demonstrating the need for strong team based primary care in Ontario. Over the years, AFHTO has heard many stories from primary care teams on the impact they are having within their community and this research helps bring that narrative to life through data. As primary care teams have matured over the years, there has been an increase in collaboration between team members and we are continuing to see the improvements happening in patient care. Your research highlights that there is indeed a difference between teams and non-teams with respect to adjusted Emergency Department (ED) visit rate and that there are lower ED visits in teams compared to non-teams as physicians transitioned into team-based care. Since this study included data up to March 31, 2017 it will be important to explore the data further, especially given new primary care teams were announced in 2017 and we have seen tremendous innovations happen in primary care to keep patients from visiting hospital EDs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primary care is the entry point and foundation of the healthcare system as it manages chronic diseases, provides mental health support, preventative care and focuses on health promotion initiatives. To support this foundation of the healthcare system, prima...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.