Health Care Connect

 

Health Care Connect is a Ministry of Health program that helps individuals

without a family doctor or nurse practitioner find one in their community.

 

Through the program, people can register online or by phone

and are then assigned to a Care Connector — a nurse who works

to match them with a primary care provider in KW4 based on

availability and individual needs.

 

Having access to ongoing primary care makes a significant

difference in health outcomes. It helps people stay on top of preventive care like screenings and vaccinations, manage chronic conditions, and reduce unnecessary emergency department visits.

 

Health Care Connect supports our Ontario Health Team’s goals and provincial priorities around primary care attachment and equity. Priority populations include newcomers, seniors, individuals with chronic conditions, lower-income residents, and people experiencing homelessness or mental health and addiction challenges.

 

Get Connected:

 

Phone: 8-1-1
Email: HealthCareConnect@ontariohealthathome.ca

 

 

 

 

Posters now available in multiple languages.

English

Arabic

German

Mandarin

Romanian

Dutch

Hindi

Polish

Serbian

Tigrinya

French

Korean

Punjabi

Spanish

 

If you are a Primary Care Provider

 

FAQ Section

For Patients
  • How can I specify my preferences for a primary care provider when registering for Health Care Connect?
    • Patients need to call HCC to indicate their preference for a primary care provider.
    • This option is NOT available during online registration at this time.
    • If there is a preferred language, you can ask for it when calling 8-1-1.
  • What are the options for patients to register with Health Care Connect?
    • There are two ways to register:
      • Register online for Health Care Connect at any time
      • Call 811 24/7
  • Is email a viable option for patient registration and communication?
    • No. You can’t register using email. Registration is online or by phone.
    • Once registered, you can provide consent to communicate via email.
  • How can I register my newborn with Health Care Connect?
    • Parents should be given a 10-digit temporary code for their newborn. Use this code to register your baby for HCC. No version code is required.
  • Do I have to de-roster from my current primary care provider?
    • No, but you should notify your current provider if leaving their practice.
  • Do I have to have a valid health card?
    • You must have a valid Ontario Health Card and up-to-date mailing address associated with it.
For Healthcare Providers
  • What is Health Care Connect?
    • HCC is a centralized provincial registry to help people find a family physician, nurse practitioner, or primary care team.
  • What information is captured in Health Care Connect?
    • Age and complex-vulnerable status, based on self-reported general health, chronic conditions, disabilities, mental health issues, and obesity.
  • How am I compensated for taking patients off the Health Care Connect list?
    • Funding incentives exist for certain physicians, such as:
      • Complex Vulnerable New Patient Fee
      • Mother Newborn New Patient Fee
      • Multiple/Newborn Fee
      • HCC Upgrade Patient Status
  • When does compensation begin?
    • New codes are not yet ready for billing. Physicians will be paid retroactively to July 1, 2025.
  • Is the Health Care Connect Coordinator part of the circle of care?
    • No, providers must obtain patient consent before sharing information with HCC.
  • Are Health Care Connect flyers available for my office?
    • Yes.
  • Can HCC provide wait times for patients?
    • Yes, approximate wait times are available.
  • Do patients have to de-roster before registering for HCC?
    • No, but patients should notify their current provider if switching practices.
  • Clinician Contact Information – Corporate Provider Database
    • Once a referral in HCC is processed, clinicians receive a letter that includes essential patient information such as the patient’s name, contact information, and age. Patients also receive a letter with the clinician’s contact information.
    • Clinician contact information included in HCC patient referral letters is pulled from the Ministry’s Corporate Provider Database.
    • Clinicians who wish to update their information, such as their phone number, are asked to use the Ministry’s Provider Registration/Change Request Form.
  • HCC Unattached Patient Incentives
    • Physicians working within patient enrolment models are eligible for unattached patient incentives. The Complex-Vulnerable New Patient Fee and the HCC Upgrade Patient Status Fee are unattached patient incentives that require the patient to be referred from the HCC waitlist.
    • While new billing codes are being developed, physicians may use the existing Q20OA code for attaching new patients and should keep a record of new patient attachments, including those from the HCC waitlist. Once the new codes are implemented, claims may be resubmitted retroactively to July 1, 2025 for eligible patients.
    • Physicians and clinicians working in other primary care models will continue to be compensated according to their respective funding agreements.
    • If, after receiving a referral from HCC, a physician clinically assesses a patient as having complex needs, they may upgrade the patient’s status to complex-vulnerable using the HCC Upgrade Patient Status Fee when submitting billing information. No reassessment from HCC is required, and the registrant’s HCC information does not need to be updated in provincial systems.