Apr 14, 2022
One of Canada’s foremost mental health care facilities approached Emids for support to improve the lives of those living with mental-health illness and addiction.
The pandemic restricted in-person access to medical care for those dealing with drug and alcohol related addictions, exacerbating their plight. The rate of opioid-related overdoses also rose significantly in the months following the declaration of the pandemic. The facility wanted a solution that allowed it to deliver care virtually.
Emids was brought in to develop a digital solution that leveraged the facility’s Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic to deliver care virtually to patients.
With the RAAM Clinic, Emids leveraged its design-led engineering approach and user experience design knowledge to transform the client’s workflows into a digital front door experience. This means the same services are now delivered remotely over the internet on both desktop and mobile devices.
Patients can check into the RAAM Clinic on a device with internet access and a camera, answer a few screening questions and submit any related insurance information before being connected with a clinician who will assess their individual needs.
The solution also allows patients to connect with additional care team members including addiction counsellors, social workers, nurses and physicians, as well as allowing for additional support members such as friends and family to attend the sessions.
The digital front door solution—built on Emids’ HealthConnect Platform-as-a-Service that accelerates the creation of Digital Health solutions—is highly instrumented. This means that various key performance metrics are captured so the system is continuously improving itself.
In the case of the client, the facility successfully pivoted from in-person care to digital care using the RAAM Clinic. The client was highly satisfied delivering care virtually at a time when it was most needed.