Taking care of your health is very important. But it can be confusing to understand how to get health care help in Ontario.
First, there are some important words you should know to help you understand how the Ontario Health Care system works.
1. Family Doctor
This is the person or clinic who you go to for most of your daily health care needs. This might be a family doctor, a community health centre or a walk-in clinic. Sometimes a family doctor is called “primary care.”
2. Emergency Room (ER)
Emergency care is what you use when you have a health care emergency. You can go to an Emergency Room (ER) in a hospital. Most hospitals have an ER. You do not need an appointment to go to the ER. You might need to wait for many hours before you see a doctor.
3. Specialist
A specialist is a doctor that has extra training in a special type of health care. Some examples of specialists are a cardiologist (doctor for the heart) or a neurologist (doctor for the brain). If you need to see a specialist, you have to go to your primary care doctor first. They will send a “referral” to a special, which means that they will ask the specialist to book you an appointment.
Do I need to pay to go to the doctor?
It depends. If you are:
A Refugee Claimant
You DO NOT need to pay to go to the doctor. The Government of Canada will pay because you are part of something called the Interim Federal Health Program.
A Protected Person
You DO NOT need to pay to go to the doctor. The Government of Ontario will pay through the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP).
A Person without status
You MIGHT need to pay to go to the doctor. The Government of Canada and Government of Ontario will not pay for your health care. If you go to most doctor’s you will have to pay. But there are some places where you can get health care without paying. These can include: