Telemedicine at The Royal Enhances Mental Health Care in Rural Communities with Support from Bell

The Royal’s Telemedicine Consultations have Increased 80% in One Year

OTTAWA, January 29, 2013 –The Royal has expanded its Telemedicine Program to improve access tospecialized mental health care for patients in outlying and rural communities across Eastern Ontario as wellas northern parts of Ontario and Quebec, and the Yukon. Thanks to a $1 million donation from the Bell Let’sTalk mental health initiative, The Royal has increased its telemedicine consultations by 80% over the past year,delivering close to 900 clinical consultations in 2012 in addition to educational sessions.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine the quality of mental health care that you receive. With support fromBell, The Royal is using telemedicine to fundamentally change access to mental health care for people inunderserved communities,” said Dr. Rajiv Bhatla, Chief of Psychiatry at The Royal. “The Royal has moved toa new level in telemedicine with more than 40 clinicians integrating the tool into their work and providingnot only care directly to our patients but also psychiatric consultation and training opportunities for familydoctors.”

1 in 5 Canadians will suffer from a mental illness. For people in urban centres, the specialized help they needto regain their mental health and maintain it is available locally. However, for people in rural and outlyingcommunities, the nearest specialist can be hours away. Travelling this distance to receive care can add time,costs and stress to the already difficult situation of living with a mental illness. Through telemedicine, TheRoyal has been able to extend mental health care to underserved communities and provide education andtraining to family doctors across the Champlain LHIN.

“Bell is very pleased to see the success of the Royal’s Telemedicine program and the impact our $1 millioncontribution to the program is having,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of the Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative.“Improving access to care across the country is one of pillars of the Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative andwe’re so proud to see this, our very first gift, taking shape in the Bell Telemedicine Suites at the Royal.”

How Telemedicine Works

Using a secure live video connection over the Ontario Telemedicine Network, patients in rural communitiescan see a mental health professional without the stress, cost, or time commitment of travel. The result isbetter access to care, with less disruption in patients’ lives.

Some patients may require ongoing care via telemedicine but many individuals with mental illness can beeffectively treated by their family physician or general practitioner in consultation with The Royal’s mentalhealth experts via telemedicine. After assessing the patient, experts from The Royal will assist with diagnosis,treatment plans, and medication options. Telemedicine combined with this model of shared care allowspatients to receive the mental health care they need closer to home.

Examples of the Bell Telemedicine Studios at The Royal in Action

• Barry’s Bay and Deep River are both underserved areas when it comes to mental health – there are notenough mental health specialists within these communities to meet the need for care. As a patient,this would mean a round trip of over 4 hours driving to Ottawa to see a specialist. Using telemedicine,The Royal now holds 3-hour clinics once monthly for patients in both Barry’s Bay and Deep River. Localfamily doctors can refer patients to these clinics where they will be assessed by a psychiatrist from TheRoyal who then provides the family doctors with the diagnostic and treatment information they need toimprove the patient’s condition.
• The Operational Stress Injury Clinic at The Royal is using telemedicine to treat Canadian Forces veteransin their local communities. Clients of the OSI Clinic may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Major Depressive Disorder, or other mental illnesses related to their service and some are living up to sixor seven hours away from Ottawa (by car) in communities where no psychiatric services are available.Through telemedicine, the OSI Clinic is able to offer everything from initial assessment to individualclinical services such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, supportive counseling, and other evidence basedpractices to these veterans and their families. Due to distance, these services are not available in anyother reasonable way; offering them by telemedicine saves time not only for the clients but also theclinicians, meaning they have more time to care for more people.

“Once, living hundreds of kilometers from the nearest city made it difficult, time-consuming, and costlyfor people with mental illnesses to consult with a mental health specialist and be treated,” said Dr. Bhatla.“Today, through the innovative use of telemedicine made possible by Bell’s support, The Royal has madehuge strides forward in breaking down the geographic barriers that have so long been an impediment togetting well.”

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For more information, please contact:

Sue Riley, Community Relations Manager at The Royal
613.722.6521 ext. 6349,
sue.riley@theroyal.ca

The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care and academic health science centres. Our mandateis simple: to get more people living with mental illness into recovery faster. The Royal combines the delivery ofspecialized mental health care, advocacy, research and education to transform the lives of people with complexand treatment resistant mental illness. The Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health raises funds thatsupport The Royal’s work while placing a sharp focus on awareness building through the youknowwhoiam campaign.

Bell Let’s Talk Day is February 12For every text message or long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers and every tweet using#BellLetsTalk and every Facebook share of our Bell Let’s Talk message on February 12, Bell will donate 5cents more to mental health programs (regular long distance and text charges apply). In 2012, 78 milliontext messages, long distance calls and retweets by 8 million Canadians on Bell Let’s Talk Day resulted in$3,926,014.20 in additional funding for mental health.

SOURCE community investments