Important COVID-19 Information and Updates

Virtual care is a powerful tool in Ontario's efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.Providers are encouraged to use virtual care whenever appropriate and Ontario’s Ministry of Health has introduced temporary billing codes and procedures to support that effort. More information on the temporary billing codes, including useful resources and frequently asked questions, can be found here.
 
Virtual visits can help: 
  • Screen patients. 
  • Gather patient history, including travel and exposure detail.  
  • Assess symptoms, severity and treatment options. 
  • Monitor progress and check in on patients in isolation 
  • Communicate with colleagues to share information and seek additional clinical input/advice
  • Communicate with multiple people at once, including family members and/or caregivers. 
While patient access is the most important thing right now, we wanted to bring your attention to some limitations with other video conferencing platforms:
  • Currently the above platforms are temporarily approved for Direct-to-Patient visits. There have been temp codes for OHIP billing developed – see links above.
  • The current MOH approved platform is OTN and the OTN HUB.
  • Using another video platforms (other than OTN) limits accessibility to systems and emergency programs- you can NOT access an emergency system from another video platform.
    • You can only connect to a Telemedicine system using an OTN connection
  • If your patient can not see you from their home- they do not have the tech nor the internet abilities, they could complete the video visit through the Health Centre or Nursing Station. This is facilitate through KOeTS and the OTN network. The system at the Health Centre is scheduled to connect to your OTN HUB account. Systems can not be scheduled to connect to any other video platform.
  • The OTN platform provides PHIPA compliant access. All OTN servers are physically located in Ontario.
  • The OTN HUB access has a Direct to Patient feature called OTNInvite- for more information please contact Allyson Gula allysongula@kochiefs.ca
  • OTN provides patient and clinician tech support via the Tech support line 1-855-654-0888.
  • OTN is supported by KO eHealth Telemedicine Services (CTC in community is able to provide support to clients/HCP)- other video platforms are not supported. 
  • OTN HUB is a $0 fee account if you not a For Profit Clinician.
  • OTN is an established network that has been operating in the Province since 2006.
  • OTN can provide OTN HUB platform testing, live training and support. 

To sign up for OTNhub services, start here.