Physicians in Ontario can gain access to valuable assistance designed to help them acquire and successfully implement information technology solutions in the practice.
OntarioMD administers the Physician IT Program including the distribution of Primary Care IT Funds and provides a Transition Support Program to assist physicians to select and adopt information technology.
The Physician IT Program includes Clinical Management Systems (CMS), Network Services, a Primary Care IT Funding Plan, and Transition Support Services.
The purpose of the IT Funding is to help Primary Care Physicians with the transition to a computerized practice. The main goal of implementing these technologies is to help physicians:
- Integrate electronic medical records, scheduling and billing
- Keep patient records up-to-date, accurate and secure
- Practice preventative care more proactively
- Make better decisions by having access to the latest drug alerts and research
- Share integrated, legible patient information with colleagues
- Automate administrative tasks
Who Qualifies for IT Funding?
Eligible Groups Include:
- Family Health Groups (FHG)
- Family Health Teams (FHT)
- Family Health Networks (FHN)
- Health Services Organizations (HSO)
- Primary Care Networks (PCN)
- Northern Group Funding Plans (NGFP)
- Community Sponsored Contracts (CSC)
- Community Health Centres (CHC)
- The Group Health Associates in Sault Ste. Marie
- The Queen’s Healthy Family Unit
What Amount of IT Funding is available to eligible groups?
The goal of the financial subsidy is to help physicians acquire one of the approved Comprehensive Clinical Management Systems (CMS), which includes the implementation of Electronic Medical Records, billing and scheduling. A total grant of up to $28,600 is available to each eligible physician, which consists of:
- An initial grant of $4500 to prepare the office for the installation of the approved CMS product.
- A one-time bonus of $2500 – dispersed when the participating physician has EMR records for either 600 patients or 2/3 of the patients in his/her practice.
- A monthly payment of $600 - provided for a period of 36 months to be used for the implementation and maintenance of a CMS.
This amounts to a total of $28,600 per participating physician.
How Do I Apply for IT Funding?
We will work with you every step of the way to ensure you benefit from this funding opportunity. We will help you complete and submit:
- A ‘Letter of Intent’
- The SSHA documents for your complimentary network
- A ‘Scope of Work’ document to your Transition Specialist
- The Network order form and rvpn form to the SSHA
- The ‘Vendor Contract Declaration’ form and the ‘Electronic Funds Transfer’ form
- A ‘Go Live Form’
- The ‘Performance Recognition Declaration’ form the $2500 per physician bonus
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