Spotlight on the SGFP Policy Team
Dear SGFP Members,
I hope you are able to take time this summer to rest, spend time with friends and family, and enjoy a well‑deserved break.
As we move into the summer months, I want to take the opportunity to highlight the incredible work happening across our SGFP operational teams. These teams are advancing the strategy of the SGFP every day, often behind the scenes, and their contributions are strengthening family medicine across Ontario. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing each of the teams and sharing a brief overview of their work.
While each team has a distinct focus, they work closely together and continue to strengthen their ties to ensure SGFP speaks with a coordinated, unified voice.
This week, I’m pleased to spotlight our Policy Team.
Who They Are
Led by Dr. Beth Perrier, Chief Physician Officer, and Lori Choma, Chief Administrative Officer, the Policy Team includes Drs. Catherine Yu, Kristen Farn, Matthew Schurter, Bruce Cook, and Ross Male. Together, they bring deep clinical expertise, systems thinking, and a shared commitment to strengthening family medicine.
Their focus is on system enablers, the structures, models, and policy foundations needed to build a strong, sustainable primary care system in Ontario.
What They’ve Built
Over the past two and a half years, the Policy Team has developed the core policy architecture that underpins SGFP’s strategy. Their work aligns to our three policy themes and continues to guide system‑level conversations across Ontario.
1. Advancing System Structures for Reform
The team has articulated what a functioning primary care system requires, and what Ontario must build. This includes:
- Primary Care Networks (PCNs): a practical, physician‑led model for governance, accountability, and system coordination.
- Working with Specialty Care: a modernized approach to improve access, reduce friction, and strengthen continuity across care settings.
- Change Management for Primary Care: a scalable framework for spread, scale, and sustainability in system transformation.
2. Strengthening Models of Family Medicine & Primary Care
The team has reaffirmed what high‑quality, comprehensive primary care must look like through the Patient’s Medical Home (PMH), the gold standard for team‑based, continuous, comprehensive care. The PMH is the “clinic of the future,” describing essential pillars such as access, continuity, team-based care, and digital enablement.
3. Restoring Respect & Professional Identity for Family Physicians
The team developed SGFP’s Keystone paper, a clear articulation of the role, expertise, and leadership of family physicians. This work anchors SGFP’s advocacy and reinforces that system reform must be physician‑led and grounded in the professional identity of family medicine.
Why This Matters
Although developed over several years, this work is not sitting on a shelf, it is actively shaping SGFP’s engagements with government, Ontario Health, the OMA, and system partners today. These policy foundations are being used daily to influence decisions, guide reforms, and ensure family physicians remain at the centre of system change.
Thank You
We are deeply grateful to the Policy Team for their leadership, expertise, and unwavering commitment to strengthening family medicine. Their work continues to guide our strategy and ensures that SGFP speaks with clarity, credibility, and purpose.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Dave Barber, Chair, SGFP
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Other Resources
BORN Ontario - Prenatal Screening Program
BORN Ontario is launching a new initiative to design and implement the digital Ontario Perinatal Record+ (dOPR+). Connected, interoperable digital records will support better information sharing, streamline workflows, and enhanced care for families throughout pregnancy and early life.
More information on the webinar, including how to register, is available.
The webinar is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and approved by the University of Ottawa’s Office of Continuing Professional Development. One hour may be claimed and the credits will be automatically calculated.
Resource Sharing: If you have information about a news item, policy, survey or event you wish to share with SGFP members, please review the criteria and provide the following required information for us to include in this section of the newsletter. Please send this submission to: ChairLetterSGFP@outlook.com