WHAT’S NEW
Report generation and distribution delayed due to technical issues
CritiCall Ontario is suspending the release of all reports for January 2010. This is due to technical issues which may be interfering with the integrity of the data collected during this time period. We are currently working with our service provider to address this issue so we can ensure the data we provide to all of our stakeholders is accurate.
At this time, we do not know how long it will take to resolve this issue. We will not be resuming the release of reports until we have resolution.
We will continue to keep you updated and once a solution is in place, you will receive reports for January and any additional months affected by this service disruption.
We deeply regret this inconvenience and appreciate your ongoing patience.
If you have questions or require additional information, please contact your CritiCall Ontario Account Manager.
H1N1 consultations available through CritiCall Ontario
CritiCall Ontario is offering a specialized consultation service for hospital-based physicians with concerns about H1N1 symptoms in their critically ill patients.
To access this service:
- Call CritiCall Ontario at 1-800-668-4357 (HELP).
- Indicate that you require an H1N1 consultation.
- One of our Call Agents will connect you with a specialist who can provide advice on how best to care for your patient.
*This consultation service will be available for the 2009/2010 flu season.
Click here for a print and post version of this information.
ExPCCRT initiative captures top honours in System Innovation category at 2009 CAPHC conference
CritiCall Ontario, The Ontario Paediatric Critical Care Response Team Working Group and The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, took top honours in the System Innovation category at the 2009 Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres (CAPHC) conference for a collaborative poster and presentation on the Extramural Paediatric Critical Care Response Team (ExPCCRT) initiative. This initiative is part of Ontario’s Critical Care Strategy and allows physicians and clinicians throughout Ontario to access high quality critical care consultations and/or referrals for their emergent or critically ill paediatric patients by calling CritiCall Ontario. Physicians are then connected to a paediatric intensivist at the most appropriate Paediatric Academic Health Sciences Centre so they can work together to determine the best course of action for the patient.
The poster and presentation highlighted increasing utilization rates since the launch of this service in October 2007 and offered an overview of how the ExPCCRT works to provide access to high quality paediatric critical care to all residents of Ontario, regardless of where they live within the province.
Click here to view the poster.
New CritiCall Ontario Reports now available
CritiCall Ontario’s new reports are ready. We’ve been busy making some changes to our reports for the last several months to provide our clients with reports that are easier to understand and use. Throughout the coming months, we will continue to incorporate enhancements into our reports.
In the interim, if you would like more information about CritiCall Ontario’s reports, please contact the CritiCall Ontario Account Manager for your area.
CritiCall Ontario partners on ENITS to improve access to neurosurgical care
CritiCall Ontario is collaborating on a provincial initiative to develop and implement a structure for emergent neurosurgical consultations and patient transfers. This work is based on recommendations made by the Neurosurgery Expert Panel to focus on five priority areas that will help improve access to neurosurgical consultations and access to this type of care.
The Emergency Neurosurgery Image Transfer System (ENITS) is one key component of this initiative as it enables CT images to be viewed remotely anywhere in the province by neurosurgeons for the purposes of consultation. The system is already being used in a number of hospitals in Ontario with consultations facilitated through CritiCall Ontario. The overall goal is to make sure neurosurgical resources are being used as effectively as possible by providing more comprehensive and timely consultations and, as a result reduce the number of unnecessary patient transfers to neurosurgical centres.
ENITS was launched in late 2008 in collaboration with the Neurosurgery Expert Panel, the Critical Care Secretariat and hospitals in LHINS 1 and 2. Since then, more hospitals have come on line and over the course of the next several months, 130 hospitals throughout Ontario will be connected to ENITS.
Click here for an ENITS Fact Sheet.
CritiCall Ontario Quick Guide – a reference for physicians or designates calling CritiCall Ontario
CritiCall Ontario is a physician-to-physician resource, however, we know that every minute counts when it comes to critical care. For that reason, as of December 29, 2008, our Call Centre will accept calls from physicians or a designate. The Most Responsible Physician must still be immediately available to speak with a consultant specialist when our agents call back, but in the interim, a designated health care professional can initiate the call to CritiCall Ontario and help us collect the necessary patient information.
To help you better understand this change to our service, we have created a Quick Guide for your reference. Please click here to access your copy.
Extramural Paediatric Critical Care Response Team Survey
The Extramural Paediatric Critical Care Response Team service is designed to ensure all children in Ontario have access to high quality tertiary level critical care by providing community emergency physicians and paediatricians with support and access to critical care resources. This initiative is part of the provincial Critical Care Strategy and has been running since October 1, 2007 thanks to participation from Academic Health Science Centres with Level III paediatric critical care services and CritiCall Ontario, which has been providing physicians telephone access to a paediatric intensivist 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-800-668-HELP.
This survey is designed to assess how well this program is working. Please take a few minutes to answer seven questions so we can continue to improve the Extramural Paediatric Critical Care Response program. Click here to begin.
CritiCall Ontario introduces call recording
This is an important enhancement to the services provided by CritiCall Ontario since it allows for more comprehensive collection of patient information. It also brings us into compliance with the practices of other essential, emergency services and protects physicians by providing a permanent record of the information exchanged to direct decision making.
The information may be used:
• To monitor quality as it relates to urgent and emergent patient consultation and referral
• For education and process improvement purposes within our Call Centre
• In a court of law as it is discoverable based on a subpoena
Recorded information will continue to be treated confidentially but will be easily retrievable in the event that it is required for the ongoing or future management of a patient’s care.
HELP Sheets for using CritiCall Ontario
A series of HELP Sheets outlining CritiCall's role and the scope of mandate has been prepared. They will also streamline the process for physicians and the CritiCall Call Centre when trying to access the most appropriate care for patients. Feedback from hospital stakeholders, LHIN Critical Care and Emergency Department leads, the Critical Care Secretariat and the CritiCall Medical Directors was incorporated in the final documents, available for download below.
CritiCall Ontario HELP Sheet for USA transfers
Paediatric CCRT-MD now available to hospital physicians caring for critically ill children in Ontario
Now hospital-based physicians caring for critically ill children in Ontario have telephone access to a paediatric intensivist 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling CritiCall’s central number:
For more information about the PCCRT, please click on the links below.