Veterans Comfortable With Telemedicine at The Royal

  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 23^rd. 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. 

Serving Canadian Veterans Through Telemedicine - We Tell Our Story in May

We are thrilled by the news that our abstract for a presentation on our telemedicine success has been accepted for this year's national e-Health 2012 conference in Vancouver this May. 

Below is an excerpt from the abstract. If you are going to this year's event, I know you will be touched by the impact we have made on the lives of those emotionally damaged during service to our country.

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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.

            An OSI is best described as any persistent psychological difficulty resulting from operational duties performed while serving in the Canadian Forces or as a member of the RCMP. Difficulties may occur during combat duties, after serving in a war zone, in peacekeeping missions, or following other traumatic or serious events not specific to combat. Common OSIs include, but are not limited to, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders, depression, substance use disorders and other conditions that may interfere with daily functioning.

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 ROHCG. 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 private and sensitive nature of an OSI could deter many clinicians from considering telemedicine as a service delivery. However the ROHCG OSI Clinic recognized studies that indicate the earlier help is sought, the better one’s recovery can be. The clinic designed a definitive trauma treatment program that relies on Telemedicine service delivery to empower patients to actively engage the OSI team in a timely, flexible, and safe delivery of care. Its Ottawa-based clinic serves clients struggling with an OSI throughout Eastern and Northeast Ontario, Nunavut, and Western Quebec, resulting in a potential 2,500 clients who may access services of their OSI.

              The presentation will include testimonial account of the impact of an OSI on the life of a client; client profiles demonstrating the treatment path realities of telemedicine-blended care versus the challenges of caring for patients limited to traditional, face-to-face treatments; and the leadership and direction credited for the rapid adoption of telemedicine delivered care by the full inter-professional, seven person care team including Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social Worker and Registered Nurse. Client evaluation strategies and results will demonstrate the growing acceptance and effectiveness of the telemedicine enhanced care.


As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of The Royal.  
         

Aligning Leadership Attention With Peak Performance

While reflecting on key leadership learning’s from 2011, the most profound behavioral change in my personal management philosophy is also going to be my biggest challenge for 2012.

Announcement - recognition and reward will not (contrary to organizational tradition) be awarded equitably and proportionately.

It was the biggest light bulb that exploded in my mind through all the books and articles that I enjoyed throughout 2011. It comes from the work authored by Leadership IQ CEO Mark Murphy. You can learn more about it in his books 100 Percenters and HARD Goals.

The premise is that if you have a team member giving 100% plus, and another giving a satisfactory 80% commitment, and you distribute reward and recognition evenly – eventually your high achiever will sense that there is no benefit to going “above and beyond”. Star performers will probably gear down their efforts toward matching the “satisfier” colleagues on the team.

That’s fine if “ho-hum” “up-to-spec” service is your goal – but that’s not good enough for me. And it would be far below the talent and capabilities of my team.

Yet in healthcare, strongly regulated by collective bargaining agreements and the healthcare tradition of wellness for all, it is a huge cultural shift when adjusting attention, recognition, and all other efforts more to the high achievers versus the members who are providing decent but unspectacular results. I have already encountered disgruntlement from people who have observed reward and recognition for some of our most outstanding accomplishments – and they quickly follow with their “what about us/me”.

That situation demands a teaching response, delivered in a way that motivates. The results and behaviors being recognized have to be visible and strategically aligned with the purpose of our existence. It’s risky. I’m sure some people will quickly call it favoritism, personal choice, anything other than performance. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Leadership IQ, in an international survey of organizations across North America discovered that one of the primary demotivators of employees engagement is the situation where high performers do not receive more recognition than low performers. If this is the cultural reality in my organization, how can we realistically expect workforce-wide commitment to excellence when we accept, acknowledge, recognize, reward and make important decisions based on average results.

For more, I highly recommend: http://www.leadershipiq.com/

As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of The Royal.

Junkmail Inspiration

 Our telemedicine team is extremely indebted to a Kanata mailman and one particular piece of unsolicited advertising (aka junkmail) that was delivered last spring.

  This is a story that reminds me of the importance of a skill that Dr. Edward DeBono taught me known as the creative pause. It is the act of making an intentional effort to look for creative ideas from the least likely sources of inspiration. It also reinforces the power of heartfelt and animated visualization when setting and reaching goals.

  You may recall from a previous blog that our Telemedicine Program at the Royal was recognized for its fifteen years of work in the field with a donation of one million dollars over five years by Bell Canada. One of the deliverables in the gift was the creation of luxurious telemedicine suites where our clinicians can provide care by live videoconference to patients in rural and remote areas of Ontario. These suites would proudly wear the Bell Canada name in appreciation of its support.

  It was April and the time had come for Sarah, Martin and I to start building that marquee facility. We looked at each other without a clue on how to start. We had plenty of collective experience purchasing the videoconference equipment and placing it in rooms to simply enable clinical consultations to happen – but a luxury suite with multimedia and television quality was way out of our comfort zone.

  To make matters worse, there were no vendors in the region who delivered the total package (beautiful room plus technologies). We were at a project impasse.

  Then fate took over. On most days upon arriving home I can identify and discard the junkmail in seconds. On this day, the typical pile included an Audio-Visual company specializing in high-end Home Theatre. Noticing this one unusual piece, I gave it my attention and within its pages was a picture of a beautiful room with customized woodwork and the requisite plasma monitor and all the technical bells and whistles.

  We now had the mental image we needed. I took the flyer to work. Handed it to the team and said “this is what I want it to look like. I want this room to be the wet-dream office for any mental healthcare specialist.” The picture and those words gave us the launching blocks for our race to the deadline.

  Within weeks, and with outstanding partnerships within our own supply-chain management and facilities teams, this luxury studio project came to life. And I’m proud to say that most of the planning happened while I was blissfully relaxing at the cottage. The junkmail image and effective description of our goal powered my colleagues through the summer.

  Today, the studio is ready for its celebratory opening, on time and well within budget. I still have that junkmail flyer that provided the spark that ignited our team’s efforts toward achieving this daunting but fulfilling challenge. 

As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.

Googlize Our Department

Last spring one of my team colleagues circulated a viral email from Google. The email highlighted all the comforts and perks that can be yours if you went to work for the mighty Google.

There was a hint of envy in the supplementary message that was shared among the team; a “wouldn’t this be a dream job” innuendo.

Rather than just acknowledge the message and move forward, I took it to a team meeting and asked the question “why can’t working in our program be just as motivating and rewarding?”

We then created the task of Googlizing our workplace.

The first step was thematically organizing the appealing aspects flaunted by Google into the categories of health, work-life balance, environment, and team interaction. Then came some brainstorming which yielded 22 immediate ideas, with implementation challenges ranging from simple to creatively complex.

Over the span of the first few months since the first meeting, we have implemented four of the ideas. One of the coolest is the purchase of “Core strength building Fitness Balls” for everyone on the team. Now each of us is literally bouncing in our seats, working the back and abdominal muscles. Perhaps there’s a calendar opportunity in our future!

We’re celebrating some of the wackiest honorarium days on the calendar. National doughnut and cheese days are behind us. There’s a day coming soon in honour of the Ice Cream cone. Perhaps it’s a good thing we have the fitness balls. The team seems to love the days that celebrate food.

I’m proud of the way our team refused to submit to being victims of our fiscally constrained healthcare environment. They clearly relish the challenge of creating a workplace that invites us to participate everyday. There are many other ideas that are in development to Googlize our department. If I can blend these great workplace ideas with their passion for achieving goals and providing outstanding services and products, then perhaps we’ll be the envy and motivator for another organization in the same way Google motivated us.


As per our blog guidelines - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.

A Behemoth Lesson in Trust and Leadership

I expect to be a better leader after each vacation. That results from a blend of casual but professionally related reading by the beach, stress-free reflection on the busy period prior to the holiday, and even practicing leadership and coaching skills within the joyous confides of family and friends.


One of the most enjoyable days of this year’s vacation was a day spent at Canada’s Wonderland, riding every daredevil ride the park offers. The highlight of the park is its newest rollercoaster called Behemoth. It’s one of the new generation of rollercoasters (called a hyper-coaster) that contains a (nearly) direct vertical climb and drop.

Want to learn more about this ride? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behemoth_(roller_coaster)

How does Behemoth connect with trust and leadership?

Let’s present the Behemoth experience with any new special project challenge. Here are the characteristics of the Behemoth ride that would serve you well in a new project.

o You are embarking toward the unknown. You know it is something you haven’t done before, and it will lead to an experience previously unimagined. But you must have the gumption to try it. Not every type of personality has this which is just fine. For me, these hyper-coasters create what I call “out-of-body experiences” that attract me to their insanity.

o As the coaster begins the journey, hauling you 230 feet straight into the air, it gets scary. You’re helpless. Your inner voice screams ‘high enough’, ‘please take me back’ or many other things. You accept the fear and keep going.

o What helps deal with the fear is trust. You have to trust that the engineers who built Behemoth, and Canada’s Wonderland who paid 26 million dollars for it, have your back. It’s the same with an anxiety-thrilled project; trust in your leaders is huge.

o The payoff moment arrives. On the behemoth, you are falling at a speed of 127 kilometers-per hour (almost 80 miles-per-hour), followed by a series of rapid “air-time hills” that create a brief sensation of weightlessness. During this part of the ride, you feel a greater sense of team as everyone around you screams. You are all living the moment together.

o In less than three minutes, the ride is over. You will decide if it’s an experience you want to repeat (with your newly acquired experience and understanding), or maybe you have learned that you never want to do it again.

Any project that seeks to profoundly change or create new ways of improving our lives will probably carry many of the same emotions as a ride on the Behemoth. As a leader, we should look for team members with the courage to face the unknown; accept the risks; and the ability to acknowledge and conquer their fear. The leader of such a team must realize that they will place their trust in you to safely support and protect them at every turn.

If you have that kind of team, you’ll accomplish great things.

As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.

Transcending Music Into Survival – Leadership Is The Trick

I keep some space between my passions for leadership and music. Who is really going to believe that a jiving, jumping fool at the front barrier of a Peter Frampton concert (me on July 10th) is going to be continuing his read of “High Altitude Leadership” (Chris Warner & Don Schmincke) when he calms down the next day? I’m a strange cat in that respect.

I don’t go to concerts expecting to see examples of leadership. But on July 17th, I witnessed a wonderful example of selfless leadership during the course of a natural near-disaster at a festival rock concert here in Ottawa.

The (band) leader in this situation was Rick Neilson of the group Cheap Trick. At 7PM they launched into their show with all the energy captured in their 1979 multi-million selling live record “At Budokan”, and the sun was shining on them for the first four songs of their set. At 7:20 PM, during their fifth song, an ominous black sky quickly rolled in. Strong winds began to whip the festival grounds. And even though the PA system cut off the sound to the mass audience, Cheap Trick professionally played “Tonight It’s You” to its conclusion for those who could still enjoy it at the front of the crowd. That professional finale could have cost them dearly.

The group quickly waved to the crowd and left the stage, but before I could count ten steamboats, a blast of wind grabbed the stage like a kite and blew it to the ground in seconds.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in front of that stage that thought there was no way the group and crew had time to get out. My first thought was that I had just witnessed the possible death of a group I have grooved with for over thirty years.

All the people around me did the expected and ran for cover, but my counter-intuitive healthcare brain kicked into emergency planning mode and I jumped the barrier in front of the stage and headed toward the wreck to lend a hand. I spent fifteen minutes hollering for anyone trapped under the fallen stage and equipment, and then hauled road barriers away to make room for emergency vehicles.

As I paused for a moment in the pouring rain I noticed the group’s leader, guitarist Rick Neilson behaving more like emergency crew than rock star. He was searching for everyone that he knew was on the stage. He was at the hip of a fallen team member (the band’s truck driver) who was badly injured in the collapse. He was communicating with the few inexperienced festival grounds workers during those initial minutes of shock and panic immediately following the stage collapse. I thought to myself, most performers would be in their trailers, perhaps on the phones with their attorneys after such an incident.

Rick Neilson clearly considered this event a family tragedy. This probably explains why band members, crew and fans have been so loyal to him. This was not a rock personality in front of me in the pouring rain, lightning flashing over our heads. These were the behaviours of a military commander or any archetypical leader in a crisis.

Perhaps this explains why the group has survived the music business for approximately four decades. They were at the height of their rock music popularity in the late seventies and early eighties, but like most classic rock groups, as styles and commercial radio changed, the group’s space in the limelight dwindled. But here they were making a long overdue return to Ottawa Ontario, in front of 10-15 thousand fans, on a huge stage with a ton of equipment about to fall on them.
Any business or industry tends to destroy the selfish. I’m sure that holds true in the music business. But if Neilson’s actions during this catastrophe are representative of his care for the family that are Cheap Trick and the music they create, then leadership and rock ‘n roll have thankfully coexisted.

You can get more on this near catastrophe on the band’s website at http://www.cheaptrick.com