Find a family doctor or nurse practitioner

A family doctor or nurse practitioner is your primary health care provider – meaning they are the person you make an appointment with when you have a new, non-emergency health concern. You can learn more about their services below.

Visits to a doctor are publicly funded so you don’t have to pay.

Some nurse practitioners work in clinics that are publicly funded so you may not have to pay. To find out more, ask the clinic about payment before you book an appointment.

Here are two options to find a family doctor or nurse practitioner who is accepting new patients:

  1. Register with our Health Care Connect service and have a nurse find a doctor or nurse practitioner for you.
  2. Contact an Ontario physician to ask if they are accepting new patients.
    1. Use The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s Find a Doctor search.
    2. Choose “Advanced Search” to find a doctor near you (by city/town or postal code).
    3. Click on “Additional Search Options” to narrow your search (to family doctors and/or language spoken).
    4. Contact the doctor to check if they are accepting new patients.

What family doctors and nurse practitioners can do

A family doctor and a nurse practitioner can provide:

  • diagnosis and treatment for common illnesses and injuries
  • referrals to health care specialists who can help with a specific condition
  • support in managing a chronic condition (such as diabetes or high blood pressure)
  • prescriptions for medication
  • regular check-ups including physicals and routine screening tests (e.g., for cancer)

Learn more about nurse practitioner-led clinics.

Have a nurse find you a doctor or nurse practitioner through Health Care Connect

Register for Health Care Connect and a nurse will search for a doctor or nurse practitioner who is accepting new patients in your community.

Register for Health Care Connect online

Or register by phone at 811 , 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

About 80% of people who join the program find a family health care provider this way, however, joining Health Care Connect does not guarantee that:

  • a family health care provider will be found for you – those who need urgent care will be placed with a family health care provider first
  • one family health care provider can take your whole family

Who can use the program

To use Health Care Connect, you must:

How to join the program

You can sign up for yourself and your whole family or for someone else (with written permission).

  1. To sign up for the program, you’ll be asked for your name, health card number and some basic health information that will help determine your health needs.

    There are two ways you can give this information and sign up:

    • Visit Health Care Connect online at any time.
    • Call 811 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
      Select your language preference and press 2 to find a doctor or nurse practitioner accepting new patients in your community.
  2. Your request will be given to a Health Care Connect nurse in your community and they will:
    1. Review your request.
    2. Try to find you the right family health care provider in your community who is accepting new patients.
    3. Contact you if a provider is found for you, and give you their contact information.
  3. Contact the provider that’s been found for you as soon as possible – if you choose not to make them your provider and want Health Care Connect to keep looking, you will have to register again.

If you currently have a family health care provider

You can only join Health Care Connect if you don’t have a family health care provider. If you would like to use Health Care Connect to switch to a new family health care provider, you must first take yourself off the patient list of your current one. There are two ways to do this:

Find a doctor by name or specialty

Visit the sites below if you are looking for a specialist in a particular field.

For health care professionals

Find specific information for health care professionals regarding Health Care Connect, including how to join the Health Care Connect Community.