initiative would only be successful if it was
well and truly informed by the experiences
of the public, the profession and health and
medical organizations.
We began with a broad preliminary
consultation on the topic of continuity of care
and the current Test Results Management
policy. We supplemented the thoughtful
responses from the consultation feedback by
conducting two public opinion polls. These
surveys probed Ontarians on issues including
the availability of their physicians (e.g., ease
of getting an appointment), their preferences
regarding accessing care when their
physician is unavailable, their experiences
and expectations regarding test results, and
their perceptions of the importance of various
continuity of care issues.
To facilitate increased engagement in the
process and to provide the working group with
different perspectives on the issues, we also
invited speakers representing primary care,
hospitals, and patients to make presentations
directly to the Working Group.
In addition to our direct engagement with
stakeholders, we conducted a comprehensive
literature and jurisdictional review. With all this
information, the Working Group set out todraft
nuanced, balanced, and practical expectations.
CPSO ANNUAL REPORT 2017 // page 28