Shared Care & Nurse Practitioners

Shared care

In March 2011 UOHS initiated a new model of care involving teams of family physicians and nurse practitioners.  In this model of Shared Care, physicians remain the primary care providers for their patients and share the care of their patients with the nurse practitioner on their team.  

The Shared Care Model allows greater and faster access to care for patients.  If your family physician is unavailable (physician is away, physician is not working that day, or physician is fully booked), you will be scheduled with the team's nurse practitioner.  The nurse practitioner consults with your family physician as required and communicates details of care provided to you with your physician.

Nurse Practitioners: Part of the UOHS Care Team

The University of Ottawa Health Services Family Health Team (UOHS FHT) is proud to include primary health care nurse practitioners among our team of healthcare professionals.

Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are specialists in primary health care and provide accessible, comprehensive and effective care to clients of all ages. Their expanded scope of practice allows them to diagnose and manage disorders and chronic diseases, prescribe medications, order diagnostics and other tests, and refer you to a specialist if needed. 

Our NPs work with your physician and other allied health care professionals (nurses, dieticians, pharmacist, social workers, psychologist, and chiropodists) to address the physical, emotional, mental and social aspects of your health and wellness.

Nurse Practitioners at UOHS have 3 major roles:

1. Independent primary care providers with patients registered directly to them and who are responsible for meeting the primary health care needs of these patients;
2. Primary care providers working closely with a patient's family physician in a Shared Care Model.
3. Program lead for one of the Chronic Disease Management Programs as UOHS such as Diabetes, AsthmaN/ACOPD, HIV, Cardiovascular, and Healthy Sexuality.

To learn more about nurse practitioners go to visit their website