Ontario is making changes to the way it funds hospitals to ensure families get access to the right health care, at the right time and in the right place.

The new patient-based funding model will see hospitals funded based on how many patients they see, the services they deliver, the quality of those services and other specific community needs. Currently, hospitals get a lump sum based on their previous year's budget with no link to the type or quality of care they provide.

Working in partnership with hospitals, Ontario will phase in the new patient-based funding model over the next three years. The new model will also provide a better return for taxpayer dollars and result in: 

• Shorter wait times and better access to care in their communities

• More services, where they are needed

• Better quality care with less variation between hospitals.

Allowing health care funding to follow the patient instead of the hospital is part of the McGuinty government's Action Plan for Health Care and builds upon the significant progress that has been made in improving Ontario's health care system since 2003.