Emergency Communications Presentation to Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories Pandemic Planning Day June 16, 2005 Emergency Management Unit Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

2 Background A number of e-health initiatives in development that have implications for emergency communications to the health sector (Public Health Information and Information Technology Strategy, Smart Systems for Health Agency: public health portal, e-physician project, etc.) Establishment of improved communications “mailer” for emergency communications following the SARS outbreak (for distribution of Important Health Notices and other urgent communications) Key recommendations on communications from Walker Report included establishment of appropriate infrastructure and protocols to ensure the Ministry is able to reach all health stakeholders in a health emergency, development of crisis communications plans and other measures to address emergency communications

3 Emergency Communications Project Emergency Communications Project established to move forward on assessing emergency communications with the health sector with two goals: 1. To identify and document business requirements for effective emergency communications in Ontario’s health sector 2. To make recommendations regarding potential information and communication technology solution options

4 Emergency Communications Project Methodology: Environmental Scan: review of current public policy environment including current and anticipated e-health initiatives, policy documents (Operation Health Protection) and related policy/program developments Stakeholder Consultations: limited group of stakeholders representing both acute/non-acute sectors and institutional as well as professional groups Literature Review: to determine if there were any emergency information penetration standards that could provide a benchmark for Ontario

5 Emergency Communications Project Findings: No Emergency/Risk Communication penetration standards were available nor were stakeholders willing to provide advice on a quantitative measure Stakeholders in acute care sector and parts of non-acute care sector (e.g. Long- Term Care Homes) were confident they had comprehensive coverage/penetration through existing /fax systems (internal communications sometimes an issue) Other community health stakeholders indicated challenges with the reliance on and fax (non-dedicated fax lines, degree of computer literacy/internet access, etc.) A number of stakeholders recommended the Ministry review additional communication modalities in addition to existing mechanisms ( /fax/website) to address effective coverage for all areas of the health sector

6 Emergency Communications Project Findings (cont’d): Format/content of emergency communications critical to uptake (concise, tailored, etc.) Concerns that contact information was not being consistently updated and that this was not considered a priority among some health care providers Regulatory environment did not mandate the collection of /fax/primary business/practice phone numbers (only billing numbers in the case of fee-for- service providers)

7 Emergency Communications Project Recommendations: 1. Information Management Review The ministry undertake a a review of current emergency contact information management policies and procedures 2. Regional Emergency Health Preparedness Assess the role of Regional Offices/LHINs in ensuring consistent and adequate health emergency contact information collection and communication protocols 3. Regulatory Review and Amendment The Ministry review existing provision under the RHPA and PHIPA relevant to the collection of contact information to ensure such provision support effective emergency health communications

8 Implications for Pandemic Planning Need to address additional communication modalities beyond /fax (e.g. daily teleconference with health stakeholders during emergency, Health Care Provider Hotline) Need to assess I&IT implications of OHPIP, identify potential gaps and opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure (through OHPIP I&IT Working Group) Ensure communications issues are addressed through appropriate communications products (e.g. backgrounders, fact sheets, Important Health Notices)

9 Information Cycle