Health Links In Oxford

Thursday, 18 September 2014 05:46

Southwest Local Health Integration Network is looking to bring a joint healthcare program to Oxford County.

OXFORD COUNTY- Oxford County is in the preliminary stages of implementing a healthcare intiative that would bring together a number of social service and protection organizations.

CEO for South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), Michael Barrett explained what Health links intends to do. "Health Links is a step for health service providers to come together to surround a patient that has complex needs, a complex patient may need mental health services, they may need acute services at a hospital they may need services from a primary care provider like your family physician."

The Health links intiative is a collaborative effort for health service providers to work jointly to provide services to patients who are not getting the right support. Currently the program has been implemented in Huron and Perth county and Barrett says it has had great success.

"Oxford County the Health Links concept is just in it's early stages, so it isn't in place yet, in Oxford County once it's started that patient with those complex needs will be identified by one of those agencies it could be a family physician it could be CMHA Oxford if that person has mental health issues."

Community Services Coordinator, Lisa Longworth says the intiative has two benefits. "We want to make sure that people don't end up in our emergency departments, not just because it reduces costs but ultimately because we care about our neighbours."

The program's health care providers would identify patients who are not getting the care they need and who perhaps need help with other support services such as mental health. Through sit down sessions the group of providers would discuss how best to help the patient. Barrett says it is up to the patient if they want to participate.

"Typically the patient would be navigating themselves, so a lot of the times they would be showing up at the emergency department on a regular basis because they are not getting care at another agency that they may need, or they may be seeing multiple health providers, so a family physician, mental health- this ensures that that patient is getting the care that they need."

As for the privacy concerns, Barrett says nothing would be done or discussed without the patients consent.

"Still requires the approval of the patient, the patient is still in the driver's seat to say that yes I want to participate in the health links, yes I want to participate with other organizations, privacy is front and foremost one of the most important principles to ensure that privacy is protected for that patient."

Barrett expects the program to be up and running within several months.