No patient should be waiting without answers.
Together, we can build a system that gets patients the care they need, when they need it.
When It’s Your Health, Every Day Counts
Across Ontario, patients and families can experience long waits for specialist appointments and diagnostic tests like MRIs and CT scans, often with no updates on the status of their referral. This lack of clarity can weigh heavily on patients and on the doctors helping them navigate their care.
There is a better path forward.
Now is the time to modernize our system so patients can get answers sooner, and family physicians can focus more on delivering care and less on managing referrals.
94%
of Ontarians agree that long wait times cause unnecessary stress and put patients’ health at risk.
70%
of patients have waited more than 3 months for a specialist appointment or diagnostic test, and over one-third have waited more than 6 months.
64%
of Ontarians have waited for a specialist appointment or diagnostic test without knowing how long the wait is.
A man showing signs of Parkinson’s disease waited four years to see a neurologist. As his condition worsened, his family doctor did everything she could, but he still went without the specialist care he needed.
A new mother with urgent postpartum complications was told she would have to wait six months to see a gynecologist. She needed care within weeks.
A senior with rectal bleeding waited three months to see a gastroenterologist, despite needing urgent investigation. When they were finally seen, surgery had to be booked right away.
Timely care can change a child’s future. A seven-year-old with developmental delays waited months to see a pediatric specialist. She missed the early supports that could have helped her and her mother felt lost with nowhere to turn.
A 30-year-old patient with complex PTSD and suspected bipolar disorder waited eight months to see a psychiatrist. During that wait, his family doctor did everything possible, but his symptoms grew harder to manage without timely specialist care.
A woman trying to get help for her mother with signs of dementia faced a one-year wait for a memory clinic. Without answers or a way to plan ahead, the uncertainty was overwhelming.
A patient in their 60s waited six months for a pain clinic appointment, only to learn the clinic didn’t have capacity. Their pain worsened as their family doctor had to start the referral process all over again.
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In the News
95% of Ontarians Support Fixing the Referral System to Help Patients Get Care Faster: Poll
Family Physicians Call for a Modern Referral System to Improve Patient Access to Specialist Appointments and Diagnostic Tests. New polling conducted by Abacus Data reveals that patients and families are waiting too long for answers about their health, and Ontarians overwhelmingly support modernizing the province’s referral system so patients can access care when they need it.