FHO+ rules

FHO+ billing terms for Ontario physicians

A plain-language glossary of FHO+, hourly-rate categories, Q-codes, rostered patients, billing units, and continuity terminology used in Ontario physician guidance.

Quick answer: FHO+ is the Ontario Family Health Organization model with hourly-rate billing guidance. The Q310A–Q313A codes describe different kinds of eligible physician work; use the current Ministry and OMA sources to confirm definitions and rules for a service date.

Last reviewed October 9, 2026

Program and hourly-rate terms

Term	Plain-language meaning
FHO	Family Health Organization, a primary-care model in Ontario.
FHO+	The current FHO hourly-rate model and related changes described in Ontario Ministry and OMA guidance.
Q310A	Direct patient care provided in person or by video, as described in the current Schedule and Ministry instructions.
Q311A	Direct telephone-based patient care provided when the physician is not in the usual family-medicine practice setting.
Q312A	Indirect patient care: eligible patient-specific work without direct patient contact.
Q313A	Clinical administration: eligible non-patient-specific work requiring physician expertise for the roster or FHO patients as a group.

Record and limit terms

Term	How to read it
Rostered patient	A patient enrolled with the FHO. Confirm the applicable enrollment and service rules in official guidance.
Billing unit	The unit used to submit an hourly-rate code. Current instructions describe 15-minute units and the applicable rounding rule.
Support-time ratio	A limit that relates eligible indirect care and clinical administration time to other billed time. Check the current rule and service period.
Continuity of care	A separate measure of whether patients receive care from their enrolled physician or FHO. It is not the same as an FHO+ time entry.

Use the current source for the exact rule

A short definition cannot determine whether a specific activity is eligible, how a claim should be submitted, or which limit applies. The official Schedule of Benefits, current INFOBulletins, the FHO agreement, and current OMA guidance take priority.

FHO+ Billing uses these terms to organize daily time records and show review prompts. It does not submit claims or provide a binding eligibility decision.

Sources

Browse all FHO+ Billing guides

Introduction — Use this help center to understand the app, the FHO+ hourly categories, and the checks to make before billing.
Start here — Set up the app once, record the day while it is fresh, and review the month before you prepare claims.
Log a day — Enter the time you worked for one service date and keep the four categories separate.
Read your billing snapshot — Understand the room calculations and prompts that change as you edit a day.
Use the time tools — Measure one work block or total several blocks before applying the result to Today.
Review a month — Use Calendar to find blank days, correct records, and check the month before claim preparation.
Create presets and weekday rules — Reduce repeated entry while keeping the saved record tied to what actually happened.
Export records and prepare claims — Create a readable date-range report and a code-by-code summary for your normal billing workflow.
Manage local data, sync, and backups — Know where your records live before you change browsers, devices, or accounts.
Use FHO+ Billing across devices — Set up FHO+ Billing on web and iPhone with the same account, then check whether your preferences and saved billing records have synced.
Review FHO+ billing records before export — A practical review checklist for Ontario FHO+ physicians using FHO+ Billing to check service dates, categories, limits, saved entries, and reports.
FHO+ billing terms for Ontario physicians — A plain-language glossary of FHO+, hourly-rate categories, Q-codes, rostered patients, billing units, and continuity terminology used in Ontario physician guidance.
If the numbers look wrong — A short diagnostic checklist for totals, room calculations, missing days, and saved data.
Check eligibility — Use the patient, service, physician, and location as the starting point before you choose an hourly code.
Choose a fee code — Keep the four hourly categories consistent in Today, reports, and billing software.
Indirect care vs clinical administration — Separate the two support categories that are easiest to confuse.
Rates, units, and rounding — Convert the time in each category into claim units and the correct base value.
Daily and monthly caps — Check the shared daily maximum and the prorated monthly maximum before submitting a large day or month.
Support-time ratios — Keep indirect care and clinical administration within the two monthly ratios.
Document a claimed day — Keep the daily totals and activity summaries needed to support hourly claims.
Prepare and check a claim — Move from the app's saved records to your normal OHIP billing process without missing the claim details.
Virtual care and other settings — Use location and service type to place virtual care, home visits, and long-term-care work in the right category.
Learners and locums — Apply the hourly guidance when teaching during care or covering an FHO practice as a locum.
Fix common mistakes — Run this checklist before you send a large claim or finish the month.
What changed on April 1, 2026 — A short guide to the FHO+ changes that sit beside the hourly-rate program.
Continuity and outside use — Understand the continuity measure without confusing it with hourly time tracking.
Official sources and dates — Go to the documents that govern or explain FHO+ billing when a rule is unclear.