Advisor, Virtual Care Patient Partnership, Island Health

Do you have an interest in helping enhance and expand Virtual Care at Island Health? We are seeking patient partners to provide feedback on current service delivery and participate in strategic planning of virtual care at Island Health.

Open to: Patient partners from Northern and rural communities within the Island Health Region.

Lead Organization or Department

Island Health - IMIT Telehealth

Aim

The Virtual Care portfolio at Island Health includes services like Telehealth and Home Health Monitoring.  The program would like to invite two patient partners to their team to provide ongoing input to the enhancement and expansion of virtual care services to ensure they meet the needs of Island Health residents. Patient partners will be asked to provide feedback and participate in a few formats over a 1 year term.  This may include attending up to four operations meetings, participating in one or two site visits to assess facilities, piloting new technology, participating in strategic planning, and reviewing website content and/or patient-client survey feedback.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

• Open to volunteers from northern and rural communities across Island Health
• Experience accessing care in rural or remote communities
• Comfort working with a small team
• Comfortable communicating over video (eg: Skype)
• Comfortable with user friendly video equipment, or willingness to learn
• Patients should have previously attended a PVN orientation session.  If you have not attended an orientation but are interested please contact Kira Tozer to see if accommodations may be possible.

• Not open to individuals currently employed by Island Health

Logistics

• Vacancies: 2
• Date and Time: Patient partners will be asked to attend operations meetings (Wednesdays) on a quarterly basis. We hope patient partners can attend their first meeting in early May. Additionally, we may also like to connect with patient partners by phone or email up to twice a month for feedback/involvement on specific projects. Meetings & calls will be on Monday-Friday during office hours.
• Location: Meetings will be held via phone or videoconference (Skype), with the option for the patient partners to join staff members in person from a site in Courtenay, Campbell River, Port McNeill, Nanaimo, Parksville or Victoria. Additionally, we may ask patient advisors to visit a Telehealth site on one or two occasions (see map of Telehealth locations).
• Commitment: 1 year, with the possibility of extending. Please Note: There is flexibility on the time commitment & amount of involvement required – this can be discussed & mutually agreed to by the patient partners & health care partner at the start of the engagement.

Reimbursement

Costs associated with mileage, transit & parking to attend meetings will be reimbursed.  Meals will be provided or reimbursed if the patient parter is required to travel or attend meetings over a meal time. Please note that reimbursement is not available for cell phone charges/landline charges or internet fees.

Background

Virtual care includes a number of technology-supported pathways that allow patients and caregivers to better manage health conditions, regardless of where they are located.  In Island Health, this most often refers to Telehealth and Home Health Monitoring: Telehealth: Telehealth uses technology to connect patients to health care services, regardless of where they live. Using Telehealth, patients can see and talk to their health care providers over a secure and private network, facilitating supported and timely health care decisions. Telehealth is voluntary and aims to create a similar experience to in-person consultations. Patients are encouraged to bring family and supports to their Telehealth session.  Here are a few short videos about Telehealth at Island Health. Home Health Monitoring: Home Health Monitoring is a free service to support people living with heart failure or COPD to manage their condition from the comfort of their home. By participating in this service, you will improve your knowledge of your chronic disease and ability to manage your own health.  Here is a short video about Home Health Monitoring.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Kira Tozer
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Vancouver Island
250.888.4525
ktozer@bcpsqc.ca