FEATURE
Continuity
of Care
Availability
& Coverage
Managing
Tests
Transitions
in Care
health system factors are beyond the control or
influence of individual physicians. However,
many continuity of care issues are within the
control or influence of physicians. And the
working group put its focus on developing
policy expectations related to those elements
of continuity of care where physicians have a
role to play. (The College’s recommendations
regarding broader systems issues that can be
a barrier to or facilitator of continuity of care
will be set out in a separate ‘white paper’ at a
later date. )
In 2016, the working group – which includes
family physicians and specialists, physicians who
work in teaching and community hospitals,
as well as members of the public – began the
groundwork for developing a Continuity of
Care policy and revising the current Test Re-
sults Management policy. The group listened
to stakeholders who provided feedback dur-
ing two preliminary consultations, did public
polling and researched the extensive body of
literature on continuity of care issues.
Common themes quickly began to emerge,
said Dr. Brenda Copps, a Hamilton family
physician and chair of the working group.
“This included the idea that patients should
experience their care as being coordinated and
connected, the importance of information flow
throughout the health-care system, and the
value of being provided care within a sustained
physician-patient relationship,” she said.
While continuity of care is a broad concept
that could include a number of issues, the
working group chose to prioritize four key
areas as its focus: Availability and Coverage;
Managing Tests; Transitions in Care; and
12
DIALOGUE ISSUE 2, 2018
Walk-in
Clinics
Walk-in Clinics. These areas were identified as
perceived areas of risk or areas where the Col-
lege had reason for being proactive in setting
out expectations.
A draft umbrella policy introduces the
organizational structure of the draft compan-
ion policies. It also sets out the principles of
professionalism that underpin the compan-
ion policies and the general expectations that
have broad application. The four companion
policies set out expectations regarding specific
elements of practice.
All five draft policies are now out for consul-
tation. We urge you to visit the Consultation
page at www.cpso.on.ca for more informa-
tion. Your feedback is an important part of
the policy development and review process, so
please tell us what you think.
Continuity of Care – Umbrella Policy
This draft policy focuses on
three key facilitators of continu-
ity of care, namely: physicians,
patient engagement, and the use
of technology.
With respect to physicians, the draft policy
emphasizes the importance of seeing patient
interactions within the health-care system as
a set of interactions that require oversight and
management over time, and not as discrete
events.
The draft policy sets out a general expecta-
tion that physicians collaborate with other
health-care providers and enable effective
communication and information sharing with
others. It is recognized, however, that how
physicians discharge these responsibilities will