I think that we see the primary care integration fund as a fund that would be put in place for a temporary period of time to enable scaling up of some models of care that already show promise. Examples of this would be groupe de médecine de famille au Québec, Ontario health teams, and primary care networks in Alberta. These are some examples that are models of care that support good integration and team-based care, and they have shown promise in terms of reduced visits to the emergency department, better adherence to preventative measures and better satisfaction by patients and providers alike.
This fund would enable scaling up, assisting and providing support to family practices to get to that model of care, because we know that investments are required up front so that you can reap the benefits at the back end in some of the outcomes that have been described, as well as savings from a health care delivery perspective.