Each year we see more client-centered
evidence in support of receiving services by telemedicine. It’s important that
we continue to integrate our customer’s experience into our ever-growing
diversity of telemedicine services. Our most recent feedback comes from our
successful Operational Stress Injury Program, a huge source of pride for our
Telemedicine Program.
The
Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (ROHCG) Operational Stress Injury Clinic
(OSI) is a joint initiative funded by the Veterans Affairs Canada and operated
by The Royal. It is also a part of Veteran’s Affairs Canada’s national network
of operational stress injury clinics. It is fundamentally designed to connect
an innovative, specialized mental healthcare provider and telemedicine leader
to the support network of service men and women living with service-related
operational stress injuries. The tragic reality of
serving our nation is that many of Canada ’s veterans are not the same
people upon returning home as they were when they embarked on their mission to
serve their country. Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) can reduce even the
toughest Canadian from proud service to suffering and isolation.
The client feedback was presented at a Young
Researchers Conference here at The Royal on March 23rd. Let’s call
it a mid-term report. The clinic received evaluations from 19 of the 44
sessions that occurred over a six week period. Our clients connected to the OSI
clinicians from their Ontario communities in
Pembroke, Kingston , Petawawa, and Timmins . If you’re not
familiar with the region, the shortest drive would be Kingston-Ottawa at
approximately 2-3 hours, and the longest would be Timmins-Ottawa which safely
would be a two-day drive.
The survey contained 12 experiential
questions; possible responses were strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D),
and strongly disagree (SD). The questions related to the overall clinical
experience, the quality of the accommodations at the patient’s site, and the
technical quality.
Most important to us are the clinical
experience questions, and once again the early results validate our efforts and
remain consistent with most general telemedicine client feedback. Here is what
they have told us:
*
I was able to
discuss my concerns with the clinician through telemedicine (SA=57.9% / A=42.1%
/ D=0% / SD=0%)
*
I was
satisfied with the quality of care.
(SA=68.4%
/ A=31.6% / D=0% / SD=0%)
*
It was more
convenient using telemedicine to see my clinician
(SA=58.6%
/ A=47.4% / D=0% / SD=0%)
*
Overall, I was
satisfied with the telemedicine session
(SA=63.2%
/ A=36.8% / D=0% / SD=0%)
Those results are as close to a perfect
testimonial imaginable. But this question is more of a reality check:
*
I would rather
have seen the clinician in person for this session
(SA=10.5%
/ A=31.6% / D=47.4% / SD=10.5%)
The numbers will help us focus on some
improvements. Approximately 15% expressed some concern about privacy. I’d like
to remove those concerns. There were also some concerns about audio quality,
problems hearing their clinician. It reminds us that we always have to do
everything possible to support our telemedicine partners who work on behalf of
our clients by graciously accommodating our consultations.
These findings will be part of our full story
behind our Operational Stress Injury telemedicine program that we’ll present at
e-Health 2012 in Vancouver
this May. If you’re not at that event, contact us and we’d be happy to share.
As per our Social Media policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent
those of the author and should not be considered representative of The Royal.
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