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QBIC (Quality Based Improvements in Care) is a program hosted by the eHealth Centre of Excellence (eCE) that works to provide primary care providers within Waterloo Wellington with support to incorporate telehealthcare services, such as eConsult, into their practice workflow.

Improved access to psychiatric care is now available in the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN) via eConsult. Using the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN), primary care physicians and nurse practitioners can ask participating psychiatrists a question about current symptoms, medication issues or other treatment options and receive an answer in 3-5 days. With eConsult, many in-person visits can be avoided and patients will receive faster treatment without having to travel long distances to receive care.   Over 30 psychiatrists are now available on eConsult. In collaboration OTN and OntarioMD, the eHealth Centre of Excellence is actively recruiting psychiatrists in our region to join their colleagues in this exciting initiative.

The following psychiatrists from our LHIN are currently available to receive eConsults:

Dr. Susan Senior – General Adult Psychiatry

Specializes in general adult psychiatry but can also consult on those adolescents 16 years +

Special interests: collaborative care; workplace and mental health; mood and anxiety disorders; chronic disease management; sleep disorders; offering clinical management advice along with medication reviews/suggestions

“I value my role with helping the doctors in our area region as well as remote areas of the province where I have been fortunate to have been able to consult on the practitioners in northern communities.”

Dr. Senior is a Royal College Fellowship Trained Psychiatrist (2003) and McMaster Psychiatry Program Graduate.

Dr. David Sherman – Geriatric Psychiatry

“I am happy to eConsult on cases of patients over the age of 65 with mental health and cognitive concerns or patients younger than 65 with cognitive concerns.

I am recognized as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a board certified Geriatric Psychiatry Sub-Specialist in addition to being certified in Psychiatry.  I completed my Geriatric Psychiatry Sub-Specialty training and Psychiatry training at the University of British Columbia in 2016.   I am an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences at McMaster University. I graduated from medical school at the University of Toronto in 2010.  Prior to that I received my Masters of Science in Neuroscience and Neuroanatomy from Dalhousie University and Bachelors of Science, with Honours in Psychology from Acadia University.

I am currently practicing outpatient and community outreach Geriatric Psychiatry at the Guelph Family Health Team and Consultation Liaison Geriatric Psychiatry at the Freeport Site of Grand River Hospital in Kitchener.”

Dr Vivian Polak – Perinatal/Reproductive Psychiatry

Specializes in patients experiencing psychiatric symptoms in the following situations: during pregnancy or in first year following delivery (women and men); fertility difficulties; miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, or death of baby or young child; pre-pregnancy assessments (i.e., for advice on the safety of psychiatric medications during pregnancy/lactation). Psychiatric symptoms or diagnoses include mood disorders (unipolar depressive disorders or bipolar disorders), generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychotic disorders, comorbid substance use disorders, eating disorders, etc.

Also available on eConsult: Dr. Mohammad Saleem Dr. Sophiya Benjamin Dr. Dinesh Benjamin Dr. Natasha Snelgrove Dr. Anjali Sharma Dr. Alexandre Tavares Dr. Rasyidah Halim Dr. Shahzad Shahmalak Dr. Robyn Fallen

To view our other eConsult spotlights, please click here!