Long emergency room wait times had become a significant concern for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Analysis showed that many people seeking non-emergency care were visiting emergency departments because they did not have a family doctor or were unaware of other healthcare options available in their community. The opportunity was to help Ontarians better understand where to seek care while creating a reliable, up-to-date directory of healthcare services that could evolve over time.

The project combined user-centred design with the practical realities of delivering a digital service within government. Research included a heuristic review of comparable healthcare services together with analysis of the factors influencing healthcare decisions. Early work also focused on creating a sustainable foundation for the service by designing a secure content management platform that allowed healthcare providers to maintain accurate information about their clinics and services.

Design decisions were shaped by the Ministry’s accessibility standards, technical guidelines, and governance processes, which required many decisions to be reviewed at senior levels of government. Rather than seeing these constraints as obstacles, the team worked within them to create a location-based service that helped people find appropriate care through multiple paths while ensuring the service could continue to grow and remain accurate over time.

The project established a province-wide platform that enabled healthcare providers to maintain current information about their services while giving Ontarians easier access to appropriate care options. Success was measured in stages, beginning with provider participation and data quality, followed by public awareness and usage after launch. Over time, the Ministry reported reductions in emergency room wait times as more people were directed toward appropriate community healthcare services.