Evaluation of the Implementation of OCEAN Online Appointment Booking, Reminders and Messaging

In July 2021, the Ministry of Health offered one-time funding to Ontario Health Teams (OHTs), ‘In Development Teams’ and other health care organizations to implement, enhance and scale virtual care programs and services. The funding was intended to support the recovery of the health system from Covid-19 by increasing access to services, changing how care is delivered and building digital capacity.
The Alliance for Healthier Communities, on behalf of its members, secured funding to implement the PS Suite Virtual Visit application, along with the CognisantMD OCEAN platform. The OCEAN platform provides online appointment booking and reminders, as well as asynchronous provider messaging. Both platforms are integrated into PS Suite, the electronic medical record (EMR) system. Appointment scheduling is managed through the OCEAN platform and integrates with the EMR. OCEAN also allows for secure messaging with clients, and when a client completes a form sent via messaging, the data are added to the client’s record.

Alliance members are funded by Ontario Health and their base budgets are intended to cover the costs of new technology. This opportunity presented an opportunity to fund digital expansion in the sector, especially since base budgets have not increased in over a decade. This funding also furthered the implementation of the Alliance’s Digital Equity Strategy focused on removing barriers to digital inclusion, including for Francophone, Black, Indigenous, rural/remote, street-involved and senior communities receiving primary and social care.
This report addresses the following objectives and outlines the experiences of, and the impact on, organizations implementing the OCEAN platform, with online appointment booking, reminders and messaging.

• Describe the implementation of messaging, reminders and online appointment booking at Alliance member centres.
• Identify effective implementation strategies for, and challenges in, implementing messaging, reminders and online appointment booking, as well as areas for improvement.
• Provide a preliminary description of impact on organizations and clients.