• Halton Physicians Accepting New Patients

Halton - Halton Physicians Accepting New Patients

• Health Care Connect refers Ontarians who don't have a physician to a family health care provider who may be accepting new patients.

Health Care Connect - Health Care Professionals - MOHLTC (gov.on.ca)

• Can't find what you are looking for? Connect with a Resource Specialist

Burlington Ontario Health Team | Speak to a Resource Specialist (burlingtonoht.ca)

To protect your privacy, we provide a tax receipt that indicates all expenses spent on prescription medications showing date, prescription number, and amount spent without showing the names of your medications. You can request your tax receipt in January or just before you file your income taxes.

Effective Date: October 10, 2023

To enrol Ontarians faster into the Trillium Drug Program (TDP) and Seniors Co-Payment Program (SCP), the ministry is modernizing the enrollment process through the launch of online forms (“eForms”).

The eForms enable Ontarians to complete and submit their applications and supporting documents online, which will significantly reduce the need for follow-ups to obtain additional information and will reduce the time to enrolment.

For the initial launch, the ministry will be implementing nine eForms (in English and French). They will be hosted on a new Ontario Drug Benefit Program Online Application and Forms website at: https://forms.ontariodrugbenefit.ca.

The ministry of health will send you a letter about three months before your 65th birthday to let you know you will automatically join the Ontario Drug Benefit program the first day of the month after you turn 65 years old. (If your birthday is 1 May or 30 May , your coverage starts June 1st. )

It starts the 1st of August every year (the due date to file our taxes is usually April, the CRA issues our Notice of assessment in July so the annual deduction starts in August)

Once you turn 65, check the ministry website to confirm the current income threshold as it is all based on your latest tax filing/notice of assessment. .

The ODB program requires those eligible to pay a $100 deductible if their income is over the provincial threshold.

Starting August 1, 2024, eligibility thresholds for the Seniors Co-Payment Program will be updated so that more seniors have access to the program.

Based on your most recent notice of assessment (for 2023) If the annual net income is no more than either:

• $25,000, if you are a single senior.

• $41,500, if a senior couple (combined household income

You could apply for the ODB copayment form, it is now available online, no need to print

If you need a copy of the form, contact the Seniors Co-Payment Program at toll-free 1-888-405-0405.

for more info check this link

To ensure the continuity of care, the pharmacist may assess the case, extend or renew your prescription based upon the individual circumstances.

Opioids and naloxone

Naloxone (pronounced na-LOX-own) is a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Opioids are drugs that are prescribed by a medical practitioner to treat pain. However, opioids are also used recreationally.

Some commonly used opioids include:

• morphine

• heroin

• oxycodone

• fentanyl

• codeine

• hydromorphone

While opioids can be an effective part of pain management for medically supervised patients, opioid addiction and overdose are a significant challenge in Ontario.

Naloxone only reverses overdoses from opioids. It will not reverse overdoses from other kinds of drugs, such as benzodiazepines or stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines.

Naloxone safety

Naloxone rapidly reverses the symptoms of an opioid overdose. Naloxone can either be injected intramuscularly (in a muscle) or given as a nasal spray.

After the naloxone is administered, it is a best practice to stay with the person who was experiencing the opioid overdose until an ambulance arrives, in case first responders need help or information.

Naloxone is considered safe for everyone, unless there is a reason to believe a person has an allergy to naloxone.

If you are not sure what caused someone to become unconscious, giving naloxone is not likely to cause further harm.

If a person has been using opioids, naloxone may put them into withdrawal. Opioid withdrawal is a set of symptoms arising from the sudden withdrawal or reduction of opioids following previous heavy usage. While withdrawal is uncomfortable, it is usually not life threatening.

Protection from liability

Protection from liability available under the Good Samaritan Act, 2001 would generally apply to a anyone who voluntarily administers naloxone in an emergency in response to an opioid overdose.

Beginning June 1, 2023, employers must provide naloxone in the workplace if certain circumstances described in the Occupational Health and Safety Act apply. For a limited time, those employers can get free naloxone training and nasal spray naloxone kits through Ontario’s Workplace Naloxone Program. Employers must provide a naloxone kit when an employer becomes aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, of the following scenarios:

• There is a risk of a worker opioid overdose.

• There is a risk that the worker overdoses while in a workplace where they perform work for the employer.

• The risk is posed by a worker who performs work for the employer.

Regardless to your income- If you have diabetes, you may qualify for financial assistance to pay for equipment such as insulin pumps and diabetes supplies through the Assistive Devices Program.

Check the following link

If you are a senior (65+ years) who needs insulin every day and lives at home, you can apply for $170 annually to help pay for syringes and needles.

1. Print and fill out the insulin syringes for seniors' application form or contact the ministry to request a form.

2. Once completed, scan and email the application form to: assistivedevicesprogram@opddp.ca

If you do not have access to email, you can mail the completed application to:

Assistive Devices Program 5700 Yonge Street, 7th Floor Toronto, Ontario, M2M 4K5

1. Buy the syringes and needles from any retailer in Ontario that sells these products. The business does not have to be authorized by the Assistive Devices Program.

People with long-term physical disabilities can get help paying for equipment and supplies like wheelchairs and hearing aids.

Eligible Ontarians with type 1 diabetes can receive Assistive Devices Program funding for a continuous glucose monitor and the related supplies.

Assistive Devices Program | ontario.ca

Learn how to access free, routine dental care for eligible seniors 65 years or older, through the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program.

The program is designed to support low-income seniors.

Dental care for low-income seniors | ontario.ca

To apply : Seniors Dental Application (accerta.ca)

Yes , If you fill your injection at our pharmacy , we can administer the injection and notify the doctor of the injection administration record.

• Pneumococcal disease- Pneumonia

• Herpes Zoster (Shingles)

• Hepatitis B

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

• Japanese Encephalitis

• Meningococcal disease

• Rabies

• Typhoid

• Varicella

• Yellow Fever

• Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)

• Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) These vaccines can be administered in participating pharmacies to anyone five years of age and older. Not all vaccines require a prescription from a primary care provider, Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced.

In some cases, patients will be able to consult directly with their pharmacist and receive the vaccine at their pharmacy. However, vaccines that are part of Ontario's publicly funded immunization program are free if administered by a primary care provider.

Patients who choose to receive publicly funded vaccines from a participating pharmacist will have to pay for the vaccine. The publicly funded flu, COVID vaccines will continue to be available at no cost for all Ontarians and non-Ontarians from their primary care providers and in participating pharmacies.

In Ontario:

• PPSV23 (Pneumovax®23) is publicly funded (free) for adults ages 65+*.

•PCV13 (Prevnar®13)

(May be purchased on an individual basis for seniors 65* prescription is needed if you have a private insurance otherwise you can get it without a prescription)

PCV13 is free for adults at high risk of pneumococcal disease.

•PCV20 (Prevnar®20)

(May be purchased on an individual basis for seniors 65* prescription is needed if you have a private insurance otherwise you can get it without a prescription)

***Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommends Pfizer's PREVNAR 20® for Adults Previously Vaccinated with PREVNAR 13®

*Schedule

Give PCV13 or 20 first, then PCV-23, eight weeks later.

If PPSV23 was given first, then wait one year before giving PCV-13 or 20.

Shingrix® is provided in a two-dose series (2-6 months apart). Ontario seniors ages 65 to 70 years are eligible for the publicly funded Shingrix vaccine, provided they have not received the Zostavax® II vaccine through the Ontario publicly funded shingles immunization program , your doctor will administer the publicly funded vaccine. Seniors outside the eligibility criteria, your doctor won’t be able to administer the publicly funded vaccine but will give you a prescription to fill at the pharmacy. If you have private insurance, it may be covered otherwise you will have to pay for it.

• There are no direct studies on the co-administration of Shingrix® with Fluad® (TIV-adj) or Fluzone® High-Dose Quadrivalent (QIV-HD).

• With Fluad®, it is unknown how the adjuvants may interact when Shingrix® is co-administered.

• If given by injection at the same time, separate limbs should be used if possible. Alternatively, the injections may be administered into the same muscle separated by at least 2.5 cm (1”). Different immunization equipment (needle and syringe) must be used for each vaccine.

• Seniors older than 65 years of age will have 3 vaccines options:

• Adjuvanted Trivalent Inactivated Vaccine “ Fluad”: protects against 3 influenza strains

• Quadrivalent Inactivated Vaccine: protects against 4 influenza strains

• High-Dose Quadrivalent Inactivated Vaccine “ Fluzone HD”: protects against 3 influenza strains

Please use the following link How to get your COVID-19 vaccine certificate (ontario.ca)

Test results will be posted on the provincial portal:

https://covid19results.ehealthontario.ca:4443/agree

You can get the new Covid KP.2 vaccine this fall 2024 regardless to the date of your last COVID vaccination.

As we move into the fall and prepare for another respiratory season, we ask that you please consider co-administration of COVID-19 vaccine and influenza vaccine whenever possible.

• All available influenza vaccines (i.e., QIV-HD, TIV-adj, and QIV) may be given at the same time with other vaccines, or at any time before or after, other vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 5 years of age and older ONLY*

• Co-administration with COVID-19 vaccine is NOT currently recommended for individuals 6 months to under 5 years of age. It is advised to wait 14 days between vaccine products when administering COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines to prevent mistakenly connecting an adverse event to one particular vaccine.

If multiple vaccines are given by injection at the same time, separate limbs should be used if possible. Alternatively, the injections may be administered into the same muscle separated by at least 2.5 cm (1”).

Different immunization equipment (needle and syringe) must be used for each vaccine.

Co-administration with the new RSV vaccine is NOT currently recommended for adults 60 years of age and older.

It is advised to wait 14 days between vaccine products when administering RSV vaccine and other vaccines to prevent mistakenly connecting an adverse event to one particular vaccine or the other.

A prescription is required for the RSV vaccine.

It is not publicly funded by the ministry of health, but it is covered by most private insurance.

If you wish to have it administered by the pharmacist, please ask the doctor to indicate on the prescription " to be administered by the pharmacist."

In Ontario, RSV can be administered by the pharmacist only if the doctor writes a prescription.

Adults born before 1970

• Generally assumed to have natural immunity.

• One dose of MMR vaccine is recommended prior to travel outside of Canada, unless there is lab evidence of immunity or history of lab-confirmed measles.

Adults born in 1970 or later.

• Adults born in or after 1970 likely received one dose of a measles-containing vaccine. In 1996, two doses became standard in Ontario.

• Those who have only received one dose of MMR vaccine are eligible to receive a second dose if they meet any of the criteria below or based on the health care provider's clinical judgment.

• Health care workers

• Post-secondary students

• Planning to travel outside of Canada.

• Unknown immunization history

• There is no harm in giving measles-containing vaccine to an individual who is already immune.

• If a patient's immunization records are unavailable, vaccination is preferable to ordering serology to determine immune status.

$6.11 for high income seniors + $100 deductible,

$2 & NO deductible for low-income seniors

For people spending more than 3-4% of their after-tax household income on prescription drug costs.

That 3-4% is their deductible and it’s paid quarterly (Aug, Nov, Jan, May 1st).

They also have a $2 copay

Copay=amount of rx cost that the pt must pay out of pocket

Deductible=fixed amount to be paid out of pocket before the insurance begins to cover any cost

Based on your most recent notice of assessment (for 2023) If the annual net income is no more than either:

• $25,000, if you are a single senior.

• $41,500, if a senior couple (combined household income

You could apply for the ODB copayment form, it is now available online, no need to print

Effective 4 October 2024

You are eligible for publicly funded COVID-19 testing if you have COVID‑19 symptoms and belong to any of the following groups:

• people aged 65 years of age and older

• people aged 18 years of age and older who have at least one condition that puts them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease

• people who are immunocompromised

• residents and patients in certain high-risk settings including hospitals and congregate living settings with medically and socially vulnerable individuals (for example, in long-term care and other specific populations and settings)

• people in the context of suspected or confirmed outbreaks, as directed by the local public health unit

If you develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection and you are eligible for a publicly-funded test, we recommend you contact your primary care provider or pharmacist to find out about test availability and to arrange to take a test as you may benefit from available COVID‑19 treatments.

These treatments should be taken as soon as possible and within the first 5 days to 7 days of symptom onset.

If you are unsure if you are eligible for a PCR test, speak with your health care provider.

Read the Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID‑19 in Ontario to learn more.