Surgical Transitions Remote Care Funding

The Ministry of Health is providing up to $7.2 million in one-time funding support for Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) and other health care provider organizations to sustain and scale programs that provide patients with pre- and post-operative clinical monitoring and related supports. This funding is intended to support by increasing access to scheduled surgeries and procedures, transforming how care is delivered, and building OHT digital maturity.

For the 2021-22 fiscal year, is inviting proposals for one-time funding for the following:

  • Proposals to sustain and enhance existing surgical transitions remote care programs funded in FY 2020-21 with demonstrated implementation success
  • Proposals to create new surgical remote care programs that meet the funding criteria below

On this page

  1. Who can apply for funding
  2. Funding objectives
  3. Project requirements
  4. Proposal guidelines
  5. Supporting resources

If your OHT is interested in submitting a proposal to access Surgical Transitions Remote Care Program Funding, please review all criteria in the 2021-22 Funding Criteria document.

 

Who can apply for funding

  • Organizations that are members of an approved OHT
  • Organizations that are members of In Development Teams
  • All other health care providers and organizations who are not yet part of an approved OHT due to their location may submit a proposal that aligns with the program requirements outlined in the 2021-22 Funding Criteria document
  • Indigenous community organizations, including those serving First Nations, Inuit, Metis and Urban Indigenous persons

Funding objectives

The objectives of this funding are to:

  • Increase overall access to surgical care with a focus on regions, communities, and populations that faced the greatest reduction in services
  • Ensure that patients receive the most appropriate care before surgery and monitor their recovery after surgery to optimize clinical outcomes
  • Transform how pre- and post-operative care is delivered to enhance patient experience and outcomes

Project requirements

All successful proposals must:

  • Be led by one or more OHTs, In Development Teams, or health care provider organizations who would agree to signing a funding agreement with Ontario Health that would include performance targets and monthly reporting requirements
  • Demonstrate alignment with Ontario’s surgical recovery plan
  • Be well-integrated across partner programs and services to support clinical care and address health inequities for target surgical patient populations across one or more OHT regions or a broad sub-regional catchment area
  • Leverage proven surgical transitions remote care programs, remote care management programs, processes/workflows, and remote monitoring solutions that can support pre- and post-operative care
  • Propose a sustainable operating model with significant in-kind co-investment that is appropriate for anticipated patient volumes. Clinical staffing requests must be matched with clinical in-kind contributions
  • Proposals should include information about the estimated number of patients that can be supported by the proposed program up to March 31, 2022
  • Be designed and governed with input from surgical patient populations with mechanisms to measure and improve the patient experience
  • Demonstrate how clinical workflows have been designed to support patients who face barriers to accessing virtual health care services, such as limited access to devices or bandwidth, digital literacy, or lack of a private space
  • Be willing to actively participate in an evaluation of the funded program, which may include submission of monthly reporting data on patients served, number of virtual visits, clinical escalations, and patient and provider experience survey data
  • Be reviewed, submitted, and endorsed by the Ontario Health region
  • Submit a budget for FY 2021-22 (in-kind and new funding request) and acknowledge that funding is only available for FY 2021-22

Proposal guidelines

OHT proposals must demonstrate one or more of the following criteria:

  • The proposal was developed by the OHT according to processes outlined in their Collective Decision-Making Arrangement(s) and submitted with the OHT as signatory (e.g., leadership council)
  • The proposal aligns with OHT priorities and OHT-specific performance indicators
  • The proposed program involves an active collaboration between OHT members
  • Funds will be flowed to and managed by a fundholder nominated by the OHT on behalf of all beneficiary OHT members
  • The proposal aligns with Ministry direction to In Development Teams (if applicable)

Note: Preference will be given to health care organizations who have partnered together to collaborate on a multi-OHT or regional proposal.

Supporting resources

Please review the following documents before completing and submitting a funding proposal:

If you have any questions or need more information about this funding program stream or the application process, please contact virtualcareproposals@ontariohealth.ca.

Last Updated: May 18, 2022