North York General Hospital's deputy family physician-in-chief has been appointed the primary care lead for the Central Local Health Integration Network.
The LHIN, which oversees health care planning for the northern part of Toronto up to Lake Simcoe, named Dr. David Kaplan to the post Friday, Feb. 3."We are pleased to have Dr. Kaplan join our LHIN as our primary care physician lead," chief executive office Kim Baker said."His experience and leadership will assist as we work together with other primary care providers to improve access to the Central LHIN through initiatives such as advanced access and avoidable hospitalizations."Kaplan, who is chair of the LHIN's primary care action group, will work with the organization to make sure primary health care services are better integrated with those provided by other health sectors.That will improve access to quality health care for local residents, the LHIN said in a statement.In addition to his position at North York General, Kaplan is an assistant professor of the University of Toronto faculty of medicine's family and community medicine and joint centre for bioethics.He is also the lead on a personal health record/patient portal pilot project funded by Ontario MD/eHealth Ontario.Health Minister Deb Matthews said the introduction of primary care leads at the 14 LHINs across Ontario indicate the government's commitment to improving access to health care.Dr. Stewart Kennedy, president of the Ontario Medical Association, agreed."Ontario's doctors know that progress has been made in improving and strengthening the health care system, but believe there is more work to done," he said."By appointing primary care leads in each of the LHINs and building on existing partnerships and successes, local family physicians can work more closely with other health care providers to improve access and find innovative ways to save the system money that can be reinvested into patient care."