No one profession can do it all.
Canada needs comprehensive, efficient and patient-centered team-based primary care for all.
And we need it now.
“You can’t just put people together and expect them to become a team”
Effective team-based care in Canada requires intentional training and coaching for effective collaboration. Government funding should be used to create a strong interprofessional primary care workforce as part of primary care reform strategies. Canada must move beyond pilot projects and share what’s working across jurisdictions to quickly adopt team-based primary care nationwide.
Explore firsthand accounts of successful team-based care innovations across Canada today.
Watch inspiring stories below to discover the transformative impact of collaborative primary care.
The Alex Family Health Centre
Calgary, Alberta
Chickadee Maternity Collaborative
Dawson Creek, B.C.
Clinique Indigo
Montreal, Québec
Northern Connections Medical Centre
Winnipeg, Manitoba
St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team - Toronto, ON
Umbrella Multicultural Health Co-Op
New Westminster, B.C.
What does it take?
Education Reform must work hand in hand with Practice Reform
"We can not just recruit our way out of this problem. We need to modernize how primary care is delivered to reflect the evolving needs of our population and those providing the care"
Dr. Kathleen Ross, President of the Canadian Medical Association
We need an all-inclusive approach that embeds interprofessional and primary care competencies into the training of all health practitioners.
Click to Expand
View in French
We need to train providers and teams at every level for more effective team-based primary care.
Click to Expand
View in French
We need to design of training across all profession with several core principles in mind.
What did we do?
Team Primary Care’s vision is an integrated health system in which every individual receives equitable, high quality, comprehensive care from a well-trained, well-supported and optimally utilized primary care team.
The Interprofessional Collaborative Table (IP Table) created multiple education and training projects to support the sharing and alignment of curricula across more than 20 different primary care practitioners to advance comprehensive team-based primary care, enhancing knowledge of each other’s roles and contributions.
The Team Optimization Table (TO Table) brought together three employment agencies and 17 team-based projects based in front-line primary care that focused on the addition of new staff and/or new roles to enhance the delivery of team-based care through intentional learning and coaching.
The Cross-Cutting Themes Table offered support and expertise to advance TPC principles across all projects. Specific partners were assigned to help projects integrate these five TPC principles: Interprofessionalism, EDIA, Psychological health and safety, Social accountability and Truth & Reconciliation.
Download TPC’s Final Project Report:
What can you do?
Training for transformation within both the health practitioner education system and the primary care system demands intentionality. We must ensure education and practice reform work hand in hand.
Thank you to the over 800 individuals and 24 organizations who came together to sign and endorse Team Primary Care's Call to Action
Implementing team-based primary care necessitates a comprehensive system strategy.
Where do you see yourself in the Team Primary Care Acceleration Agenda?
Click to Expand
View in French