A new report to the Ford government makes 10 recommendations to end so-called hallway healthcare and improve outcomes for patients.
The Premier's Council on Improved Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine released its second report Tuesday. An earlier report identified challenges within the health care system.
Some of the recommendations outlined in "A healthy Ontario: Building a sustainable health care system" include financial incentives to promote better health outcomes, giving patients greater access to their medical records, and strengthening partnerships between health and social service providers.
In recent years, access to long-term care has become a more significant issue as the population ages. The report recommends prioritizing patients differently, so those with the greatest need have priority over those with lower acuity needs.
If the government chooses to adopt them, some recommendations will require legislative changes. For example, improving access to digital health records will require changes to the Personal Health Information Protection Act.
The report also offers possible short, and long-term actions the government can take including conducting a review of the current system to remove duplication, expanding the mix of services and beds in high-need communities, and refreshing its plan every three years.
Another long-term action item recommends consulting with Ontario residents "on how to pay for and ensure the sustainability of our publicly-funded health care system."
The Premier's Council said it would continue to provide advice to the government on long-term capacity planning, development of the new super-agency Ontario Health, and Ontario Health Teams.