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Island Health TeleMental Health

Expansion Project

- Removing Barriers to Care

Dr. Helen Campbell

Physician Lead

Margarita Loyola

Manager, Telehealth

Jo-Lee Bertrand

Project Manager

Alert Bay…

Vancouver Island

• Population 1,200-1,500

• Remote location off the North Coast of Vancouver Island

• Accessible by ferry or float plane

• Limited local health services

What if We

Introduced

Telehealth?

• Telehealth suites (video access points) across Vancouver Island

• Patients in remote and rural communities connected with providers at any location

• Removal of time, distance and cost barriers

Establishing

TeleMental

Health as a

Service

• Mental Health is a perfect fit for Telehealth delivery

• Equalization of the therapeutic relationship

• Adaptable to provider availability

• Began an SSC funded initiative - TeleMental Health 2014

SSC Project

Funded by SSC – partnership of Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health

• 5 Original Communities o Port Hardy o Ucluelet o Parksville-Oceanside o Port Alberni o Campbell River

• 6 Additional Locations

• 3 New Initiatives o Urgent TelePsych o Developmental

Disabilities Team o Child & Youth

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Results

• Increased consults year over year (59% increase in first time, 200% increase in follow-up)

• 4 new services introduced for TeleMental Health

• Positive client and physician feedback

• Continued expansion planned

• Up to 700% decrease in wait time

• $35,000 less spent on fuel

• 57,000 kg of greenhouse gases avoided

• 200,000 km and 2,500 hours less travel

Behind the

Numbers

“I was struggling with my

mental well-being,

everywhere I turned I was

told it would be at least a

year... Through Telehealth

I saw a psychiatrist in less

than a month, who

provided me with the best

medical experience that I

had ever had.”

- Client

What’s Next?

• Continued interest in Telehealth for Mental Health services

• New SSC Project – “Child Youth TeleMental Health Collaborative Care”

• Goal is to build on learning and experience to expand the model

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Acknowledgements

• Funding for this initiative was

provided for by the Specialist Services

Committee (SSC), a joint collaborative

committee of Doctors of BC and the

BC Ministry of Health

• Island Health provided in-kind

infrastructure including all video

conferencing equipment