Why do we ask patients for their OHIP number?

We're occasionally asked why we request OHIP numbers as part of our online registration process.

As physicians at Magenta Health are family doctors who provide ongoing, long-term primary care for enrolled patients, they are unable to enroll patients who do not have valid OHIP coverage; this includes patients who are only covered by another provincial health plan, or by third-party insurance. (read more here).

We therefore ask patients to supply their OHIP number upfront, as part of the initial online registration process, so that we can validate and confirm this information with the Ontario Government. This step usually takes a couple days, but it prevents the situation of patients taking time out of their busy day to come to the clinic, only to find out once they arrive that their OHIP has expired or is otherwise invalid, and that they will not be able to complete their appointment with a physician.