From October 2023 to April 2024, the Network undertook a survey to better understand the current state of outpatient rehabilitation programs (OPRs) and specialty clinics and inform capacity planning for rehabilitative care. The results of the survey will be shared with Ontario Health regions to help inform regional planning and support access and flow.

The survey, which had a 67% response rate, included a range of questions about wait times, patient volumes, referrals, and resources required to increase or expand capacity.

Results indicated:

  • exceptionally long wait times for seating and augmentative communication clinics
  • long wait times for outpatient rehab and specialty clinics for older adults
  • differences in some program wait times for internal vs. external referrals
  • good turnover in cardiac/cardiovascular and pulmonary programs, with shorter wait times and high volumes
  • the majority of referrals for OPR programs are received from acute care and rehab hospitals, although some programs receive more than 80% of their referrals from the community. More primary care referrals were reported in the Toronto region
  • maximizing capacity would require additional investments in capital resources and/or health human resources, depending on the program

Based on the data, the Network recommends organizations review waitlist practices to ensure patients are ready and available to receive services and suggests evaluating care models to determine the optimal number of sessions, timing of discharge and number of patients seen per day. In the coming weeks, it will also share this data with and offer a series of recommendations to Ontario Health.

For more information, please contact the GTA Rehab Network directly.