It is the goal of the Prime Care Family Health Team to provide excellent, accessible and timely health care to the residents of the town of Milton, Ontario and the surrounding areas in North Halton Region by coordinating the actions of its member physicians and allied health care professionals. Advancing Primary Health Care… video Meeting Community Needs… video Focusing On Patients… video The Family Health Team is an approach to primary health care that brings together different health care providers to co-ordinate the highest possible quality of care. Designed to give doctors support from other complementary professionals, most Family Health Teams will consist of family physicians working with nurse practitioners, nurses, and other health care professionals, such as dietitians, pharmacists, mental health workers, and physician specialists, among others. Each Family Health Team is unique, as the composition of the team is determined by the health needs of the community it serves. The team of health care professionals works collaboratively to provide a variety of health services – primary health care, chronic disease management, mental health services, and health promotion. The key benefit of a Family Health Team is improved access to care for patients. Family Health Teams provide the entry point into the health care system and make service more accessible. Extended hours will be available to patients enrolled with a Family Health Team, as well as access to a registered nurse after regular business hours through the Telephone Health Advisory Service. Objectives To improve our patient’s access to primary health care. To decrease the demand for primary care  physician services by incorporating allied health professionals. To integrate primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses into an efficient, multidisciplinary team to address our patients’ needs. To achieve accepted benchmarks for the treatment and monitoring of chronic disease including diabetes. To improve our patients’ access to mental health counseling. To improve our patients’ access to physical treatment such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, and occupational therapy. To decrease patient waiting time for ultrasound examinations in pregnancy and other conditions. To decrease patient waiting time for endoscopic examinations such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and arthroscopy. To decrease the risk of falls and osteoporosis in our older patients. To improve exercise tolerance in our older patients. To develop a patient education program to provide information on good parenting, healthy lifestyle, and strategies for coping with chronic disease. To form liaisons with stakeholder organizations such as CCAC, Red Cross, Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. To respond to our community’s needs for health care services and to anticipate future needs. To market our services and develop communications strategies using the Internet and other electronic means to reach our patients more efficiently. To develop methods for evaluating our services and measuring patient satisfaction and improvement in patient outcomes.