Central Intake - Description of Services

Ontario Health is advancing system modernization by expanding Central Intake services across the province. Central Intake is a single-entry model that supports streamlining of referrals across key clinical pathways including orthopaedics, cataract surgery, diagnostic imaging (computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)), and mental health and addictions ensuring patients are directed to the right provider, at the right time, in the right location.

Central Intake supports healthcare providers in reducing administrative burden and improving communication between primary care providers and specialists, and more broadly, between other clinicians and sites sending and receiving referrals.

Approach: Two‑Stage Implementation

• Stage 1: Focused on the Diagnostic Imaging (CT/MRI) pathway, with regions onboarding to provincially procured technology supporting Fax/Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) workflows.
• Stage 2: Central Intake Technology integrated with provincial Ontario Health Assets like the Provincial Care Coordination Gateway and Provincial Health Services Directory, and leveraging Fax and eReferral Ontario workflows.

Who Uses Central Intake

• Primary users include hospitals, primary care, specialists, and other health service providers who currently send or receive referrals, to support patient journey to access healthcare services aligned central intake priorities.
• Central Intake Hub administrative staff and system/data administrators, who directly access central intake technology to process and route the received referrals.

Long-term Value

Central Intake Stage 1 establishes consistent processes, strengthens data quality, and reduces regional variation. It also lays critical groundwork for future provincial integration with assets such as the Provincial Care Coordination Gateway, ONEAccessGateway and Provincial Health Services Directory.

Safeguards

For additional information on Ontario Health safeguards, visit ‘Safeguards for the Protection of Personal Information and Personal Health Information’.

See our Contact page to find information on how to contact the Ontario Health Privacy Office

Central Intake technology is expected to integrate with the following Ontario Health provincial digital assets in future:

Provincial Care Coordination Gateway (PCCG): The PCCG is a digital asset owned and operated by Ontario Health that supports the routing of referrals within the eReferral Network, through the Central Intake Hubs. It enables the delivery of comprehensive health services by supporting the full referral workflow across the province. Ontario Health operates the PCCG as a Health Information Network Provider (HINP) and/or Electronic Service Provider (ESP). This hub-and-spoke model provides a unified framework for data sharing across the referral network.

ONEAccessGateway (OAG): Acts as a single point of entry to various Ontario Health digital services. It offers a set of RESTful FHIR® APIs protected by OAuth2 and OpenID Connect for secure authentication and authorization.

Provincial Health Service Directory (PHSD): The PHSD is an evolving directory of health care services, providers and organizations in Ontario. Managed and delivered by Ontario Health, it aims to support system navigation for patients and providers by offering accurate and up-to-date information as it continues to grow.