Occupational Therapy in Primary Health Care

Occupational therapists have played emerging roles in Ontario’s primary health care system for some time as members of professional teams working in some Community Health Centres across the province. However, the profession’s advancement into primary health care was accelerated with the formal approval for occupational therapists to be funded inter-professional team members of the province’s 200 Family Health Teams (FHTs) in February 2010. Early adopting FHTs have secured OTs and these therapists are furthering the exciting development of OT roles in primary health care. The diverse foci of FHTs have generated demands for OT attention to seniors focused services and home safety, mental health services, pediatric services, chronic disease management, pain management, health promotion activities and more.