Primary Care Network Task Groups
The All Nations Health Partners (ANHP) Ontario Health Team has established four task groups to drive progress on its shared priorities and strengthen care across the region. These groups bring together providers, community partners, and people with lived experience to focus on the areas that matter most: primary care enablement, access and attachment, chronic disease prevention, and capacity building. Each group provides leadership, develops practical solutions, and ensures that the voices of patients, families, and communities are reflected in how care is planned and delivered.
The task groups operate as collaborative tables, aligning local efforts with provincial priorities set by Ontario Health. By coordinating across organizations and sectors, they are able to identify gaps, test new approaches, and measure results. Together, they provide the foundation for a more connected health system — one that improves access, strengthens prevention, and supports better outcomes for all people in the ANHP region.
Primary Care Enablement TASK group
The Primary Care Enablement Task Group is dedicated to organizing and supporting the region’s primary care sector so providers can work more effectively together. By advancing the development of the Primary Care Network (PCN), the group helps family physicians, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians collaborate in planning, decision-making, and service delivery.
Key priorities include:
- Strengthening the Primary Care Network (PCN): Establishing clinical leadership and broadening participation among local primary care providers.
- Supporting interprofessional collaboration: Encouraging team-based approaches that bring together different types of providers to improve continuity of care.
- Enhancing digital integration: Expanding the use of tools such as online appointment booking and eReferral to reduce barriers and streamline coordination.
- Improving communication with providers: Sharing timely information, updates, and resources that help primary care teams deliver more consistent and connected services.
By focusing on these priorities, the group is helping to build a stronger foundation for primary care — one that ensures providers are better supported and patients experience a more coordinated system of care.
ACCESS & ATTACHMENT TASK GROUP
The Access & Attachment Task Group is working on ensuring that every resident in the ANHP region has a consistent relationship with a primary care provider. The group works to remove barriers, connect people to care, and provide interim supports for those who are not yet attached.
The Working Group’s priorities include:
- Clearing the waitlist: Developing and implementing plans to match patients from the Health Care Connect waitlist with family doctors or nurse practitioners.
- Reaching 100% attachment: Building toward the provincial goal of ensuring every Ontarian has a primary care provider by 2029.
- Supporting unattached patients: Implementing collaborative services that provide care options while individuals wait to be matched.
- Improving navigation: Making it easier for people to understand how and where to access local primary care services.
Moving the work forward, the task group is strategizing how more patients find a regular care provider, while also making sure there are pathways to timely care for those who are still waiting.
CAPACITY BUILDING WORKING GROUP
The Capacity Building Task Group is focused on strengthening the foundation of the ANHP OHT so it can better serve local communities. This includes expanding membership, deepening engagement, and equipping staff and partners with the skills needed to support meaningful change.
Prioritized areas of work are:
- Broadening membership: Expanding participation across sectors, including Indigenous partners, patients, families, caregivers, and equity-deserving communities.
- Enhancing engagement: Advancing patient, family, and caregiver involvement in planning and decision-making.
- Equity and cultural safety training: Ensuring OHT staff complete training in Indigenous cultural safety, anti-racism, health equity, and patient engagement.
- Strengthening representation: Making sure the perspectives of providers, patients, and communities are reflected in OHT decisions.
With the priorities highlighted by Ontario Health, the group is working to build the capacity needed for a more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable health system.
CHRONIC DISEASE & PREVENTION WORKING GROUP
The Chronic Disease Prevention Working Group is focused on helping people stay healthier for longer by identifying risks early and improving how chronic conditions are managed in the community. By strengthening prevention and proactive care, the group aims to reduce avoidable hospital visits and improve quality of life for patients.
Key areas of focus are:
- Community-based supports: Expanding programs and services that help people manage their health outside of hospital settings.
- Targeting high-impact conditions: Prioritizing care for heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), two of the leading causes of preventable hospital visits.
- Early detection and proactive care: Using primary care tools and data to identify patients at risk sooner and connect them with supports.
- Team-based approaches: Strengthening interprofessional care so patients benefit from coordinated services across providers.
- Equity-focused care: Ensuring rising-risk and underserved populations have better access to prevention and management programs.
- Measuring impact: Tracking enrolment, monitoring reductions in hospitalizations and readmissions, and demonstrating improvements in proactive care.
The task group members are collaborating to develop a more proactive, community-focused approach to chronic disease — one that supports patients where they live and reduces the need for hospital-based care.
