Building Bridges to Collaborative Care

A Primary Care Advisory Program

Family Health Teams in Ontario are founded on the principles of effective, quality, team- based care. However, in our extensive experience with family physicians and their teams, there are significant challenges when it comes to putting these principles into practice.  One common challenge is the culture shift from an independent physician practice - in essence a solo entrepreneurial structure, to a group practice funded by and accountable to the Ministry of Health. This has implications for both physician payments and their mode of practice.

Typically it falls to the FHT Leadership Team to provide the direction necessary to achieve the FHT’s goals, which in many instances requires team members to put organizational interests above their own. When the organizational interest runs counter to your own self-interest, often this is the point where teams break down. Using the latest research in social neuroscience, The Building Bridges program will help you develop the critical leadership skills you need without having to spend time away from the office.  It’s tailored to your needs in your environment, which will produce the best outcomes.

Lastly, we work with individual physicians in the FHT to ensure a successful transition to the FHO payment model. We offer an assessment tool that will determine how your family practice has fared in the transition thus far and identify opportunities for improvement. Working with your own practice data we will develop strategies to increase physician remuneration, minimize office administration, outside use and implement Open Access.

When we work with you, you can achieve:

• Increased patient enrollment and effective roster management
• Greater team satisfaction
• Fewer meetings that are more productive
• Implemented Advance Access
• Proactive and structured collaboration (for Team Leaders and Team members)
• Less reliance on Team Leads
• More QI initiatives implemented
• Increased practice productivity yet fewer working hours
• Effective communication techniques for a business and team environments