Understanding how to improve access to care
For people without a primary care provider
The Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT) is using journey mapping to better understand the experiences of community members who do not have a primary care provider. This innovative tool captures how individuals navigate the health-care system, highlighting challenges and opportunities for improvement as FLA OHT develops its Health Home model.
What is journey mapping?
Journey mapping is a visual engagement tool that provides a holistic view of an individual’s experience navigating health care, capturing key barriers and touchpoints. It helps health-care providers understand pain points experienced by community members and improve service delivery by fostering empathy, identifying areas for improvement, and streamlining processes.
According to Dr. Anna Chavlovski, Primary Care Physician, Chair of the FLA OHT Health Home Support Structure and one of the researchers of the study, journey mapping is an essential tool in co-designing a more inclusive and person-centered health system. “Journey mapping is a good co-design tool that we can use with our community members to understand how they experience a health-care service and where we can improve that together,” Dr. Chavlovski explained.
This approach can enable health-care providers to:
- Identify areas for improvement and create a more person-centered system
- Build empathy and compassion for individuals' experiences
- Break down silos, fostering a more coordinated health-care system
- Focus on pain points and areas of frustration to streamline processes
Key findings from the engagement
The FLA OHT engaged 19 unattached community members through six one-on-one interviews and two focus groups, who shared their experiences of accessing care without a primary care provider.
One of the most striking findings, according to Dr. Chavlovski, was the amount of time and disruption involved in seeking health care when unattached, “It’s not just a health-care concern. It’s also about the loss of income, productivity, and school time for kids,” she noted. The experience of waiting in emergency rooms or walk-in clinics for hours often disrupts families' lives, highlighting the urgent need for more accessible primary care.
Dr. Chavlovski emphasized the importance of creating more Health Homes in our region to ensure that everyone has access to people-centred team-based primary care. “There is an urgency to create more Health Homes and attach more people with a team-based equity lens so that everyone has access,” she said. But in the meantime, the journey mapping also raised the question of how best to support unattached individuals with essential services, such as cancer screenings or sexual health testing, until they can be attached to a primary care provider.
Read more about journey mapping and related studies.
Next steps and ideas for change
The journey mapping engagement is part of a broader effort by FLA OHT to transform primary care by involving the community in co-designing our health-care system. “If we’re going to create new services, it’s essential to ask those who need the services what they want and need,” Dr. Chavlovski explained. This direct feedback from unattached community members provides valuable insights that will help the FLA OHT prioritize changes that address the most pressing concerns. It will be used to inform discussions within the FLA OHT Primary Care Network, focusing on local and system-level improvements. Immediate goals include leveraging digital tools, advocating for more equitable access, and empowering patients.
The path forward
While the ultimate goal is to attach every community member to a primary care provider, interim solutions are needed. Dr. Chavlovski noted the importance of providing alternative services, such as dietitians and diabetes educators, to support unattached individuals. “We need to figure out how to provide care until everyone has access to a Health Home,” she explained.
Journey mapping has shed light on the challenges of unattached individuals to access health care, but it also offers valuable insights for transforming primary care in our community. The FLA OHT is also engaging in journey mapping with primary care providers to capture insights into the provider experience. Together with the community feedback from the unattached journey map, the FLA OHT will use insights and change ideas to continue improving access to primary care and building an equitable, connected, accessible health-care system that works for everyone in our community.