Have you recently relocated or are going to be relocating, and need to find a new primary health care provider? Your North Life realizes that finding a family doctor can be hard and so many are not accepting new patients, but we have found a program that can help your search be less stressful.
Ontario’s Health Care Connect program is a program for those who do not currently have a family doctor and can register with this program to find one. To participate, you must have a valid Ontario health card and up-to-date mailing address. Once you have entered in your basic information online or by calling an agent, your request will be given to a health care connect nurse in your community to review your request. Upon reviewing your request, the nurse will begin searching for a doctor that will best fit your needs and contact you when one has been found. Once a provider has been found you should contact the provider as soon as possible after receiving the information.
If you currently have a primary health care provider, you must first take yourself off the patient list before being able to apply for the Health Care Connect program. The Health Care Connect program is only for those who do not currently have a primary provider. You can do this by contacting your present provider directly or by calling Service Ontario at 1-888-218-9929.
If for some reason you do not qualify for the Health Care Connect program, you can also use the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario website by drafting a search based on region and doctor type.
We know that organizing your life in a new community can be stressful and finding information isn’t always readily accessible, but that’s why Your North Life focuses on highlighting key relocation information to ease your transition.
-The BDAR Team