On February 21, 2023, the government introduced Bill 60, Your Health Act, 2023, which outlines the next steps in the Your Health: Plan for Connected and Convenient Care ("Plan") to support faster patient access to care and to help reduce wait times for surgeries, procedures and diagnostic imaging.
Under the Plan, the government is expanding the delivery of OHIP-insured surgeries, procedures and diagnostic imaging that can be safely performed outside of hospitals into community-based centres, referred to as Integrated Community Health Services Centres (ICHSCs), through strengthened quality assurance and oversight of these centres.
To support the Ministry of Health's ("the ministry's") implementation of the Plan, in September 2023, the Independent Health Facilities Act (IHFA) was repealed and replaced with new legislation, the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act, 2023 (ICHSCA). In addition, regulatory amendments were made under the ICHSCA to support strengthened quality assurance, safety and inspections within ICHSCs.
The ministry is now proposing three amending regulations to further support the ongoing implementation of the Plan:
� A proposed regulatory amendment under the ICHSCA would name Accreditation Canada as the new inspecting body for ICHSCs and would apply to all ICHSC licensed services. The regulatory change would remove the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) and College of Midwives of Ontario (CMO) as the prescribed inspection bodies under the ICHSCA for licensed services.
� A proposed housekeeping amendment to Regulation 552 under the Health Insurance Act (HIA) would set out the new date of the most recent Schedule of Benefits - Physician Services, which will be updated to replace references to the repealed IHFA with the new ICHSCA.
� A proposed regulatory amendment to Part XI of O. Reg. 114/94 to be made by the CPSO under the Medicine Act, 1991 to add the ICHSCA to the list of Acts governing health facilities that are not subject to the CPSO's out of hospital premises inspection program.
The proposed regulatory amendment under the ICHSCA would impact centres licensed as ICHSCs. The ministry is holding a series of stakeholder consultations, that include health system stakeholders and regulatory colleges, to inform the development of the new quality assurance program. There may be financial impacts related to any changes made by Accreditation Canada to the current fee structure to support the strengthened quality assurance program.
No financial impacts are expected to any regulated entities by the proposed amendment to Regulation 552 under the Health Insurance Act.
An amendment to O. Reg. 114/94 made under the Medicine Act, 1991 is required to remove ICHSCs from being subject to inspection under the CPSO's out-of-hospital inspection program.