Traditional 211 service delivery has been designed to support anonymous access through inbound call centre technologies. While this removes barriers to entry, it can also limit continuity of care and system coordination. As a result:
- Community Navigators have had limited access to client history
- Organizations receiving referrals often need to start from the beginning
- A holistic view of interconnected needs is harder to achieve
- Opportunities for coordinated care, goal-setting, and prevention are reduced
Community Connection is addressing these gaps through a customized client database that serves as a longitudinal record, supporting trauma-informed care by reducing the need for individuals to repeat their stories. Community Navigators can view client history, track changes over time, and capture detailed information that improves both service delivery and reporting.
This system is fully integrated with the 211 network’s legacy platforms, ensuring seamless coordination across our contact centre, specialty lines, and navigation services.
eReferral Ontario
eReferrals modernize traditional service navigation by enabling secure, real-time digital referrals from clinicians, paramedics, community organizations, and police services. These referrals are automatically integrated into our client record system, allowing Community Navigators to initiate timely outbound contact and provide tailored, client-centred support.
A key feature of this program is its integration with the Ontario-wide eReferral network (OCEAN), which supports bi-directional data sharing with electronic medical record (EMR) systems. Referrals from EMR systems are received directly into our client database, and outcome reports are sent back to the referrer and documented in the patient’s health record—creating a closed-loop referral process that improves accountability and continuity of care.
Through this approach, 211 plays a vital role in fulfilling “social prescriptions”, connecting individuals to community and social services that address the social determinants of health and support overall well-being.
This digital innovation has many benefits:
- Reduced burden on healthcare providers: Referrals to 211 help offload client assessment, referral coordination, and follow-up from busy clinicians—allowing them to focus on medical care while ensuring patients receive timely support for their social needs.
- Improved equity and client experience: Clients do not need to repeat their stories multiple times, supporting a more seamless experience aligned with trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices.
- Scalable and future-ready model: This digital approach can be expanded across regions, supporting innovation, consistency, and modernization within the 211 network.
Community Information Exchange (CIE) Pilot
People with complex, intersecting needs are often supported by multiple organizations simultaneously, without shared visibility into care and support activities. This can lead to fragmented and uncoordinated service delivery.
To address this, we are piloting a Community Information Exchange (CIE)—a community-governed approach that enables information to be shared securely, responsibly, and effectively across organizations serving the same clients.
Through this pilot, we are working to create a more connected and coordinated system of care that:
- Simplifies access to services: Clients enter through 211, a single, coordinated pathway, making it easier to find and connect with the right supports.
- Improves coordination across systems: Service providers work from shared information and common processes, reducing duplication and gaps in care.
- Enhances the client experience: Individuals tell their story once and receive seamless, continuous support grounded in trauma-informed and person-centred approaches.
- Supports timely, appropriate connections: Standardized assessment and referral processes will help match people to the most relevant services.
- Promotes equity and consistency: A shared framework ensures fair and consistent access to services, regardless of where someone enters the system.
- Strengthens data and system insight: Coordinated intake and tracking provide valuable data on community needs, service gaps, and outcomes.
- Builds a scalable model: The CIE approach can grow and adapt across communities and sectors, supporting stronger integration between health, social services, and community supports.
As a pilot, this work allows us to learn, refine, and build a more responsive, integrated service system that better meets our community’s needs.