In honour of this year’s Mental Health Week (May 7 - 13), our annual Partnerships in eHealth symposium – which took place on May 9 – put the spotlight on the digital health tools and resources currently available (or coming soon) to support healthcare providers in the delivery of care to patients with mental health concerns.

In his opening remarks, our Managing Director Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia talked about how the mental health service bundle we offer can help at different points of care. We were also delighted to welcome back Dr. Robert Bell, Deputy Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, who gave a keynote address on the crucial role that elements of the service bundle play in assisting healthcare providers to connect patients quickly and seamlessly with the mental health supports they need. Among the tools that were highlighted:   The System Coordinated Access (SCA) program’s electronic referral (eReferral) solution: in the coming months, the Ocean eReferral Network will be onboarding mental health supports – enabling healthcare providers to quickly and seamlessly make referrals for their patients, directly from the electronic medical record (EMR) or from ONE ID single-sign on.

OntarioMD’s Health Report Manager (HRM): HRM has recently gone live at Canada Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW) and Homewood Health Centre, enabling them to send reports directly into a primary care provider’s EMR.

This year’s event also featured two engaging panels. The first panel, empowering patients with information – just a click away, included the following talks:

• CMHA WW’s eHealth Lead Gerrit Sepers gave an informative talk on Big White Wall, an online mental health and wellbeing service offering self-help programs, creative outlets and a community environment
• As the CEO and founder of the Life Recovery Program, Paul Radkowski showcased how his online site provides self-directed video based guidance to help families/friends and those struggling with addiction and mental health issues
• Fred Wagner, Executive Director of CMHA WW, spoke about Bounce Back, which is a provincial skill-building program designed to help adults and youth 15+ manage symptoms of depression and anxiety using an online platform

The second panel was on using technology to support seamless connections to care, with panelists speaking about a number of different ehealth resources:

• Daniel Pearson Hirdes, CEO of HealthIM, spoke about how HealthIM strengthens communications between polices services and hospitals, as a resident undergoing a mental health crisis transitions across the spectrum of care – from community-based to acute services
• The eHealth Centre of Excellence’s Wendy Lang and Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Alexandre Traveres gave a joint presentation on how Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) eConsult is getting primary care providers expert advice from mental health specialists quickly – so they have the information they need to create a care plan for their patients, without patients needing to wait for a referral
• The eHealth Centre of Excellence’s Meghan Brenner-Burgoyne and Stephanie Chin teamed up with family physician Dr. Neil Naik to talk about how tablets in waiting rooms are supporting patients to complete mental health assessments, with that information going directly into their doctor’s EMR

Both panel sessions were followed by stimulating Q&A sessions moderated by Ted Alexander, the eHealth Centre of Excellence’s Vice President of Partnerships and Clinical Innovation. Attendees were invited to share their response to the presentations, which led to some interesting and wide-ranging discussions about the current and future states of digital health.   Interactive booths were also set up, so during lunch and breaks, attendees could get a firsthand look at the digital health tools on offer and ask questions in a one-on-one setting.     Overall, it was an exciting day and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the eMental Health resources available in our community to support healthcare providers and their patients.

Thank you to all of our presenters, booth hosts, organizers, and attendees – we hope to see you again next year!

What is a virtual visit?

Virtual visits allow healthcare providers to ‘see’ their patients over a secure, online communication system via chat messaging, phone or video.

We’re working with the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) and Think Research to create a virtual visits platform for residents in the Waterloo Wellington region.

So far, 23 primary care providers and 18 administrative staff members have registered for virtual visits, and together they have signed up 289 patients (with 213 more invited to use the virtual visit solution).

Since going live with the solution at the end of March, 205 virtual visits have already been completed!

For more on our virtual visits program (including information about how to get involved), please click here.

Please click here to download the PDF.

Calling all primary care providers: we are excited to announce that the eHealth Centre of Excellence’s QBIC (Quality Based Improvements in Care) team is now offering a new osteoporosis tool that can be integrated directly into your electronic medical record (EMR)!*

This custom form supports clinicians with early identification and management of patients with osteoporosis. Clinical content adapted from 2010 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Osteoporosis in Canada and the 2015 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Frail Elderly. Assess a patient’s risk for fracture using Canadian Association of Radiologists and Osteoporosis Canada (CAROC) Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) Coupled with a falls assessment tool Use the risk factor analysis to Guide management both non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic Access educational handouts For more information on how to access this tool, please contact Rob Gordon, QBIC Change Management Specialist at Rob.Gordon@ehealthCE.ca.

* Please note that the osteoporosis tool is currently only available for TELUS Practice Solutions EMRs.

Interested in more information on QBIC's services? Click here for the full catalogue.
 

Please click here to download the PDF.

This past weekend, the Waterloo Record published an article about Diagnostic Imaging (DI) referrals at Waterloo Wellington hospitals going live on the Ocean eReferral Network.

From the article:

The aim is to improve the patient experience, and cut down on delays, lost referrals and missed appointments.

"There's no telephone tag back and forth," said Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, director of the eHealth Centre of Excellence. "It will reduce the time to referral."

Click here to read more!

Please click here to download the PDF.

This past Monday, virtual visits went LIVE in Waterloo Wellington!

What are some common types of virtual visits? Follow-up on lab or diagnostic imaging results Prescription renewal Sinus infection Pink eye Sick notes Mental health Chronic back pain Seasonal allergies Cold and flu symptoms Skin conditions Chronic condition management

For more information on our virtual visits program, please click here.

Interested in using virtual visits in your practice? Please contact eHealth Centre of Excellence Change Management Specialist Meghan Brenner.Burgoyne to get started!

Please click here to download the PDF.

We are excited to announce that as of today, the seven hospitals in the Waterloo Wellington region are now accepting Diagnostic Imaging (DI) referrals through the Ocean eReferral Network as part of our innovative System Coordinated Access (SCA) program.

Thank you to the Waterloo Wellington Diagnostic Imaging Integrated Program Council (DIIPC) and to all of our system partners for their continued commitment to making it easier for healthcare providers to connect their patients to the care they need, when they need it.

For more information, please visit: http://systemcoordinatedaccess.ca/di/