Ontario's Health System: Key Insights for Engaged Citizens, Professionals and Policymakers

by John N. Lavis

Ever wondered how the Ontario health system works? The goal of this book is to help make the system more understandable to the citizens who pay for it and are served by it, the professionals who work in it (and the future professionals who will one day work in it), and the policymakers who govern it. Each chapter begins with key messages for each of these groups. Part 1 describes the ‘building blocks’ of the system, including who gets to make what decisions (governance arrangements), how money flows through the system (financial arrangements), and what and who make up the system’s infrastructure and workforce (delivery arrangements). Part 2 explains how the building blocks are used to 1) care in each of six sectors – home and community care, primary care, specialty care, rehabilitation care, long-term care, and public health; 2) care for four conditions or groupings of conditions – mental health and addictions, work-related injuries and diseases, cancer, and end-of-life; 3) care using select treatments – prescription and over-the-counter drugs, complementary and alternative therapies, and dental services; and 4) care for Indigenous peoples. Part 3 describes recent and planned reforms to the system and assesses how the health system is performing. The system is complex, so 66 tables and 25 figures have been included to aid understanding, including 16 ‘at-a-glance’ figures that summarize the policies, programs, places and people that are key to understanding particular types of care.

442 pages, Paperback

Published December 19, 2016