What is OSP and how can it help you?

OSP offers several service options that you can move between as your needs change. This helps us get you started quickly and avoid long wait times wherever possible, while offering flexible service options to suit your life and needs.

All services within OSP use CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches), a form of therapy that teaches coping skills and techniques to help you change the way you feel, think, and act. Our services usually start with fast access, self-directed CBT based information and exercises, with options for flexible coach or therapist support. Your coach or therapist will monitor your progress and feedback, and can tailor your service options as needed. If you require additional services after starting with a self directed option, we can transition you to structured psychotherapy services involving weekly sessions with a therapist. This approach of starting with the service that is most flexible and least disruptive, monitoring progress, and transitioning to more intensive services when needed is called a Stepped Care Approach. You will be asked to fill out questionnaires about your mental health at regular intervals to track your progress. This will help to measure if the program is working for you and identify if a change of service option within OSP is needed. It also helps you see your progress as you go.

Service Options at OSP

Depending on your needs, the following are some service options available through the OSP program:

Following your intake, if you do not hear from the service to which you were enrolled within the time frame given during your intake please contact your intake clinician at the number provided at your intake appointment.

Data Privacy and Confidentiality

Overview

The Ontario Structured Psychotherapy program (OSP) is an initiative supported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) with the goal of expanding the availability of psychotherapy and related services to Ontarians who experience depression, anxiety, and anxiety-related concerns.

Participation in the OSP Program requires the collection and sharing of personal health information (PHI) with those directly involved in providing you care as well as those working to improve services in the mental health system– just as one does when they visit a medical doctor in Ontario.

To help determine what OSP services would best support your needs, personal information will be collected and maintained by Health Sciences North. This information will include your:

• Ontario health card number
• Date of birth
• Demographic information
• Information about services you receive (e.g., assessment, care)

You may also receive services from one or more providers within our service network depending on your needs, and your health information will be shared through secure digital platforms with these providers as part of your care.

FAQ

1. What information is being collected and why?

As a client of this program, your Ontario health card number, basic personal information (e.g. your name, DOB, address, etc.), demographic information (e.g. age, sex, gender) and clinical information will be collected to understand what service is most appropriate for you, to connect you with a service provider and to improve the quality and administration of the OSP program. This information will be collected and maintained by Health Sciences North and shared with those who provide you with service as you move through OSP. Information about clients in OSP will be shared with Ontario Health to improve mental health programming in Ontario.

2. Are there any risks or benefits to participating in this program?

The benefits of participating in the program include the opportunity to access evidence-based psychotherapy and related approaches to decrease symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anxiety-related symptoms. The potential risks of participation include the possibility that when thinking or talking about upsetting aspects of your life, you will experience a temporary increase in distress.

3. Is participation in OSP voluntary?

Your participation in this program is voluntary and you are free to choose to withdraw from the program at any time by contacting us at 705-523-4988 ext. 4272 or speak with your therapist or intake worker. When you choose to participate in OSP, collection and sharing of health and other service-related information is necessary to provide you with the most appropriate care.

4. Will my personal health information remain private and confidential?

Every effort will be made to ensure your personal health information will be protected and your confidentiality maintained at all times. Protection of your personal health information is governed by law under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). This Act sets out rules that must be followed when collecting, storing, using and/or sharing personal health information for treatment.

There are some exceptions to confidentiality where information may be released with or without your consent. When possible, we will make every effort to notify you. The exceptions are:

• If your care provider believes that you are at immediate risk of suicide or serious bodily harm to yourself and disclosure would eliminate or reduce the risk;
• If your care provider believes that there is an immediate risk of serious physical harm or injury to another person and disclosure would eliminate or reduce the risk;
• If your care provider suspects a child under 18 may be at risk for abuse or neglect
• If your care provider believes that any regulated health professional has sexually abused or has been sexually inappropriate with a client
• If your care provider believes that an elderly person living in a long-term care facility is being abused
• Where the disclosure is permitted or required by law (e.g., your information is subpoenaed by a court of law or as part of a missing person’s investigation), or disclosure where permitted by PHIPA or other legislation.

In order to provide you with the best and most appropriate service available, your information may be shared with other service providers under OSP, as deemed necessary by your clinician/coach.

In addition, your care provider may discuss your progress with their clinical supervisor/consultant and other therapists/coaches as part of ongoing supervision or consultation.

5. What happens to my Personal Health Information in the OSP Program?

Every effort will be made to securely store all PHI collected and comply with institutional data storage protocols, such as password-protected access. If deemed necessary for service, your information may be securely transferred to another service provider within the OSP Program through a secure digital platform.

For evaluation and reporting purposes, service providers will regularly transfer client information to the provincial data repository for the OSP Program. The data repository will securely receive information from all participating OSP service providers, and may combine client records across multiple providers if necessary for the purposes of reporting.

Reports may be shared with Ontario Health, the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence, regional health authorities (i.e. one or more Ontario Health Teams), and service providers within the network. All reports produced will contain only de-identified aggregate data. In other words, there will be no PHI or information presented in any reports that will be able to identify an individual participating in the OSP Program.

6. What is the OSP Program provincial data repository?

Ontario Health has tasked the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Provincial System Support Program (PSSP) and its Drug and Alcohol Treatment Information System (DATIS) with supporting the OSP Program. DATIS acts as the provincial data repository and is responsible for storing, analyzing and reporting on OSP Program clients from all service providers across Ontario.

7. Who can I contact if I have more questions regarding privacy and confidentiality of my data in the OSP Program?

If you have any questions, please call 1-833-49NEOSP (1-833-496-3677).

CONSENT FOR VIRTUAL VISITS

Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is able to offer care virtually using the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) video-conferencing platform or telephone. We are offering virtual care for assessment, treatment and group sessions for patients who are suitable to join virtually and wish to do so.

Virtual care is defined as: Any service delivery that is done virtually (i.e. not in person), in any of the following ways; video-conferencing using the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) by attending an OTN suite or by logging on using your own device in the location of your choice (PCVC), or by telephone.

Prior to starting virtual services (i.e. video-conferencing or telephone), we have discussed and agreed to the following:

Safety and Identification

• 1) When you are meeting with your healthcare provider for individual sessions, you will be asked to provide your full name, and one (1) of the two (2) following; date of birth or health card number with version code. When you are meeting for a group session, you will be asked your first name and initial of your last name, and one (1) of the two (2) following; month and day of date of birth or version code of your health card number. For all virtual visits, you will also be asked to provide your current location (address) and phone number at the beginning of each visit for emergency purposes.
• 2) If you or your healthcare provider becomes aware of any risks to your safety or the safety of someone else, we will perform a risk assessment and may direct you to go your local Crisis Intervention Program or Emergency Department. If the level of risk is high and we are not able to adequately plan for safety with you, EMS or Police may be notified, and provided your address.
• 3) Your healthcare provider will assess the suitability of virtual care to meet your service needs on an ongoing basis and it may be determined that, due to certain circumstances, virtual visits are no longer appropriate. Further options will be provided, which may include telephone visits, in-person visits, referral to another program or discharge from the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program.
• 4) Patients must participate respectfully during the session, i.e. free of background distractions and dressed as if attending a session in-person. Position your computer screen/monitor facing a wall to decrease distractions to other participants. Patients cannot join virtual sessions from a public setting (i.e. coffee shop, library, etc.).
• 5) If you are out of your geographical area in which you reside, we ask that you inform your healthcare provider. This is important for your safety as your healthcare provider needs to be aware of emergency and crisis services offered in the area in which you are in. Services can only be offered to locations inside Ontario. In the event you are outside of Ontario, please notify your provider and your appointment will be rescheduled upon your return to Ontario.
• 6) Any information shared with your healthcare provider using a virtual care method, including video-conferencing, telephone and email, about your treatment, health and/or safety will be documented in your electronic health record.

Confidentiality

If you are participating in a group treatment session virtually, you must agree that you will not share information given by other group members with anyone outside of that virtual group.

Risks and Benefits

There are potential risks and benefits to using email as well as participating in sessions virtually, i.e. video-conferencing and telephone that differs from in-person sessions. Please review the following to understand these better.

Risks include:

• Healthcare providers have no control over the patient’s environment (others in the client’s environment that can overhear your conversation); this can lead to possible breaches in confidentiality and client privacy
• The sudden dropping of the internet connection
• Having poor video or audio quality at any given time
• Confidentiality; virtual platforms are never as secure as in-office appointments, e.g. emails can be intercepted by others if using a shared email account or can be intercepted by malware
• Lack of internet access / access to needed technology can create barriers to communication if/when using email as a method of contact

Benefits include:

• Convenience; email is accessible from anywhere, provided there is internet access and privacy
• Reduced risk of exposure to COVID-19
• Time saving; you do not need to leave your home or office in order to receive care and no time is spent travelling to your appointment
• Cost savings; reduced costs for transportation and/or parking

Technology

1) For video-conferencing appointments, the OTN platform will be used for your virtual sessions. Should you require support on how to use it, you can call the OTN helpdesk at 1-855-654-0888 (1-855-654-0888).

• A) Use a computer/laptop with webcam and microphone capabilities or a smartphone for the session.
• B) Use a secure internet connection rather than public/free Wi-Fi.

2) If you are attending an individual virtual session, a backup plan will be established with you at the beginning of each session (e.g., phone number where you can be reached) to restart or reschedule the session, in the event of a technical problem.

3) No recording devices (audio and/or video) will be used to record your visit without the agreement and consent of both parties (patient and healthcare provider).

Email Use

1) In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to communicate with patients and their families using other methods, the use of email may be used to communicate between healthcare providers and patients. Safeguards to protect privacy are in place; your healthcare provider will review them with you before engaging in any use of email.

2) Please note, you may receive some correspondence, e.g. OTN supporting documents, etc., by email from your healthcare provider and/or program. Unless directed by your service provider, the use of email to deliver personal health information or to seek urgent care is strictly prohibited. The osp@hsnsudbury.ca email address is not monitored.

CONSENT STATEMENT

By reviewing this consent form and attending the session (individual or group), you are consenting to participate in the virtual session by respecting the abovementioned and to participate appropriately as listed above. Virtual participation is dependent on the honour system to ensure privacy, confidentiality and safety of all participants. Please note that all privacy violations will be reported to our Chief Privacy Officer, who may be required to conduct investigations, report incidents to the Information and Privacy Commissioner and may be required to take additional actions.

If you have any questions, concerns or issues, please contact your healthcare provider by leaving a message with the Ontario Structured Therapy Program at 705-523-4988 ext 4263.