By Alex Mlynek

In January 2021, Humber River Health launched SCOPE, a program aimed at solving one of the most persistent challenges in healthcare: administrative and logistical tasks – such as finding the right specialists for referrals and co-ordinating diagnostic imaging – that consume the limited time of primary care providers (PCPs), including family physicians and nurse practitioners. SCOPE stands for Seamless Care Optimizing the Patient Experience and is designed to support PCPs by making it easier for patients to access the care they need. This is particularly important as Humber serves an equity-deserving community that continues to experience a lack of access to primary care and social support services.

SCOPE speeds up timelines by pairing PCPs with a SCOPE nurse navigator, who can quickly and seamlessly arrange patient care. In fact, 90 per cent of requests filed through the program are completed within a single day.

As a member of the North Western Toronto Ontario Health Team, Humber is part of a network that includes 258 family physicians and more than 300 PCPs – individuals SCOPE is specifically designed to help. Since its launch at Humber, SCOPE has grown to support more than 210 PCPs in providing care for their patients and diverted over 900 emergency department visits, and it continues to increase access to equitable care for the Humber community.

One of those PCPs is family physician Dr. Ferase Rammo. “It has been a game changer. Before SCOPE, wait times for specialists and other referrals were extremely long, which of course resulted in delays and frustrations for both patients and our team,” he explains. “With SCOPE, we have access to a five-star service that streamlines these steps. SCOPE has changed the way my practice is able to interact with our healthcare system.”

Stats:

• 900+ ED visits diverted since launching
• 4,100+ contacts from primary care providers

To read our full magazine, Care Closer to Home, click here.