Telehealth Ontario

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About the city. Telehealth Ontario has become one of the channels for getting information during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goal

The main goal is to provide prompt medical care for residents of the region, especially in times of pandemic; to provide quick answers, information and advice related to all areas of health.

Implementation period. The project was launched in 2014.

Fact

During the pandemic, the number of calls increased hundreds of times.

Solutions

Telehealth Ontario is a free, confidential service a citizen can call to get health advice or information. A Registered Nurse takes a call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assistance is available in more than 300 languages. When a citizen calls Telehealth, it`s important to say what language they speak.

Telehealth Ontario is only offered over the phone. Email advice is not available.

How it works

When a citizen calls, a Registered Nurse asks them to answer questions so they can assess the citizen’s health problem and give some advice.

Telehealth Ontario nurses will not diagnose an illness or give a medicine. They will direct to the most appropriate level of care or contact with a health professional who can advise citizen on some of your next steps.

The nurse will help you a citizen whether to:

handle a problem yourself
visit your doctor or nurse practitioner
go to a clinic
contact a community service
go to a hospital emergency room

Who can call

Anyone can call Telehealth Ontario to ask a health-related question. This service is:

confidential – you may be asked to provide your health card number, but it is not required
provided in both English and French, with translation support for more than 300 languages
free for all users

What is okay to ask

People can contact Telehealth Ontario when they have health-related questions or concerns about:

illness or injury that may need medical care
illnesses that don’t go away or keep coming back
support available to help you quit smoking
food and healthy eating (you will be connected to a registered dietitian)
teen health and issues
depression, suicide or other mental health concerns
breastfeeding
refugee health supports
medical assistance in dying supports

Telehealth Ontario is not intended to provide emergency support. If the situation calls for it, dial 911 to have an ambulance or other emergency response sent out and to get emergency first aid instructions by phone.