Emergency Department Costs Averted Attributed to Community Health Centres in Ontario

Community Health Centres (CHCs) provide comprehensive interprofessional primary health care to equity seeking populations who typically face barriers to accessing care. CHCs address their clients’ needs by going beyond medical care to offer community-oriented social and health promotion services that focus on the social determinations of health. In 2017, the Auditor General concluded that there was “not sufficient information to know whether CHCs’ programs and services are cost-effective.” However, several international studies have shown that when CHCs meet patients’ health and social needs, they can reduce the use of other health care services, including avoidable hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits.

This report is the first in a series being prepared for the Alliance for Healthier Communities by Dale McMurchy Consulting. Drawing on prior research as well as linked practice-based and administrative data, these reports will illustrate how CHCs in Ontario are contributing to health system sustainability by providing comprehensive care for people with complex health and social needs. Despite the complexity of this population, our members' clients can have lower than expected health care costs. Other reports in this series will focus on costs saved through comprehensive care for people living with diabetes, and on how our members deliver lower-cost primary care.