Musculoskeletal Rapid Assessment Clinic

Across Ontario, patients who may need a hip or knee replacement surgery follow a “centralized intake process” that uses Musculoskeletal Rapid Assessment Clinic for assessments and referrals. This process also helps patients and their health care providers to understand all of the treatment options available to them and could include: education, behaviour modification, weight loss management, physiotherapy, bracing, injections, or surgery.

1. If you are diagnosed with hip or knee arthritis, your Family Physician or Nurse Practitioner will make a referral to a Central Intake Centre.
   • You will receive a call from Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s (CKHA) Musculoskeletal – Rapid Assessment Clinic to book an appointment.
   • At CKHA, the Rapid Access Clinic is located at the Chatham Site in the Outpatient Therapy Services Department – Zone B, Level 1, room 101B. It is located directly across from Tim Horton’s.

2. A detailed hip or knee joint assessment will be completed by an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist to determine with you if a referral to an Orthopaedic Surgeon is required or if another treatment is the best choice for you.
   • Your assessment will include physical, social, and lifestyle history along with a full physical assessment, and a review of your x-rays. You will be asked to bring in a disk with a copy of your X-rays if they were not completed at CKHA.

3. If surgery is not right for you at this time, you will receive recommendations and education to help you manage your condition.

4. If it is determined that you are a potential candidate for a total hip/knee joint replacement:
   • You will receive a call from the office of the Orthopaedic Surgeon you have selected with an appointment for your consultation.

Click Here for Total Hip Replacement Booklet
Click Here for Total Knee Replacement Booket 

Musculoskeletal (MSK) Central Intake – Rapid Assessment Centre for Hip/Knee and Low Back Pain

Fully Covered by OHIP

Musculoskeletal Rapid Assessment Centres help people with hip and knee pain get timely access to treatment and specialized care. The centres use a coordinated intake and triage process to reduce wait times and get patients access to the right education and treatment options. These could include referrals to an orthopaedic surgeon or physiotherapy.

Hip and knee assessments are available at MSK Rapid Assessment Centre locations in Windsor, Chatham, and Sarnia. You will be booked for an assessment at the location closest to your home, or you may choose the first available assessment at any of the locations.

Primary Care Providers will send a standardized referral form (below) to the Central Intake office, located at the Erie St. Clair LHIN. From there, the referral is directed to the appropriate surgeon or hospital.

Erie-St. Clair MSK Central Intake
Hours of operation: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday – Friday
Phone: 519.436.2513
Fax: 855.519.6611
Email: ErieStClairCentralIntake@ckha.on.ca

This model benefits:

• Primary Care Practitioners – who will be able to support their patients through an accessible, consistent patient care pathway and receive assessment outcomes with recommendations
• Specialists – who will receive triaged referrals which allows for more predictable practice and improved wait list management
• Patients – who will be assessed sooner (within four weeks of referral) with outcome measures and a plan of care, regardless if they are in need of surgery or not

MSK Central Rapid Assessment Centres:

Bluewater Health
89 Norman St. Sarnia, ON N7T 6S3
Phone: 519.464.4400 ext. 8100
Fax: 519-464-4517
Website: https://www.bluewaterhealth.ca/total-joint-replacement 

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance
80 Grand Ave. W. Chatham, ON N7L 1A8
Phone: 519.352.6400 ext. 6387
Fax: 519.436.2500
Website: https://www.ckha.on.ca/msk-rac 

Windsor Regional Hospital – Met Campus
1995 Lens Ave. Windsor, ON N8W 1L9
Phone: 519.985.2679
Fax: 519.985.2689
Website: https://www.wrh.on.ca/HipAndKneeRAC

Rapid Assessment Centre for Low Back Pain

Fully Covered by OHIP

The Rapid Assessment Centre for low back pain is to help improve the quality, access, and appropriateness of care for people with moderate to severe low back pain. This model of care will provide each patient with a timely low back pain assessment, education, and self-management plans.

It is designed to decrease prevalence of unmanageable chronic low back pain, reduce opioid initiation, reduce unnecessary diagnostic imaging, as well as reduce unnecessary specialist referrals and emergency department visits.
Note: all patients must be referred by a doctor or nurse practitioner.

Contact Info: 

Windsor Regional Hospital – Ouellette Campus
1030 Ouellette Ave. Windsor, ON N9A 1E1
Phone: 519.255.2269
Fax: 519.973.4427