The Value of LHINs
LHINs are the only organizations in Ontario that bring together health care partners from the following sectors – hospitals, community care, community support services, community mental health and addictions, community health centres and long-term care – to develop innovative, collaborative solutions leading to more timely access to high quality services for the residents of Ontario and South East LHIN communities.
By supporting these important partnerships, LHINs are ensuring that Ontarians have access to an effective and efficient health care system that delivers improved health care results and a better patient experience.
Because of LHINs, providers in the local health care system are working together to improve access to quality care for Ontario residents.
• Health Service Providers within the SE LHIN are working together to improve the continuum of care with an emphasis on transition points- where patients are being transferred from one sector of care to another.
• The SE LHIN is working together with Mental Health & Addictions service providers to improve access to their services for individuals dealing with mental illness or addictions. This is being done through coordinated access to care that engages all involved stakeholders to help patients find the most appropriate care.
• The SE LHIN created a clinical document repository to share all reports coming from hospitals. This results in a significant increase in efficiency and reduction in paper usage. For example, one Family Health Team and a hospital can exchange approximately 540 reports a week, without using a single sheet of paper.
• To learn more about the service providers within the South East LHIN, please visit the South East LHIN Get Connected With Care page.
• To find out how the South East LHIN is working together with local providers, please review our Annual Reports.
Because of LHINs, the health care needs of people in your community are being identified, co-ordinated and addressed as a truly integrated system.
• The South East LHIN has conducted extensive analysis of the South East region to prioritize the health care needs of the people in our community. To see the results of this data analysis, please review our Regional Capacity Assessment & Projections Report.
• Through the Clinical Services Roadmap, hospital service providers within the South East are working together to develop a regional system of care that is easy for patients to navigate.
• The integration of the Maple Family Health Team & Kingston General Hospital, as well as the Picton Family Health Team & Quinte Health Care-Picton, have reduced paper usage by 90% and are able to have reports from the hospital deposited directly into their electronic health records. This process that used to take up to two weeks is now complete within minutes.
• The South East LHIN initiated and supported the implementation of the Inter RAI CHA-a community based assessment tool. This enables the standardization of client assessments within the Community Sector.
• To learn more about the strategic aims of the South East LHIN and our plans to achieve them, please visit our "Integrated Health Service Plan" page.
Because of LHINs, local decisions are being made to respond to local health care needs.
• Each month, the Board of the South East LHIN holds open board meetings to review information on system performance and quality, accountability, engagement, integration and planning. The general public is always welcome to attend.
• The South East LHIN Board of directors is comprised of individuals with the talent, expertise, experience, leadership skills, and a significant understanding of local health care issues. Members of the South East LHIN board are residents of South Eastern Ontario, living and working within the SE LHIN catchment area.
• To review the materials presented at these board meetings, please visit the South East LHIN’s Board of Directors page.
• To better understand how the SE LHIN staff and board engage with our community, please visit the "Engaging our Communities" page.
Because of LHINs, health service providers, such as hospitals, long-term care homes and community agencies, are being held accountable for the taxpayer dollars they are given.
• Download copies of each health service provider's Accountability Agreement to see how taxpayer dollars are being used effectively to provide access to the highest quality of care.
If you have any questions or need more information on the value of LHINs, please email us at southeast@lhins.on.ca