Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health

Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health has created a community for mentoring primary care providers via televideo.  Since its launch in 2015, Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health has registered 336 primary care providers across 53 sites in Ontario, and has offered 80 educational sessions.  Their team’s research has evaluated the evidence for Project ECHO globally, and demonstrated knowledge outcomes for primary care providers.

Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health is also working to expand integrated care to meet the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis patients and communities across Ontario. In March 2016, the team launched ECHO Ontario First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Wellness to create a community of practice for primary care providers working with Indigenous clients across Ontario. “ECHO Ontario First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Wellness aims to engage with Indigenous providers and communities to address the health disparities and fragmentation in care that exist for Indigenous peoples across Ontario,” says Co-Chair and Assistant Professor Dr. Allison Crawford.

Collaborating with CAMH experts in mental health, addiction medicine and Elders and Indigenous Social Workers, this project is developing an integrated approach to mental wellness. It encourages best-practices in healthcare and Indigenous knowledges, and integrating patients’ physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs within the context of family and community.

Information on ECHO:

Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO)
This model builds primary care provider (PCP) capacity in the treatment of chronic illness, providing PCPs with guidance and training about current evidence‐based best practice, reducing the need for specialist visits and improving the quality of care for patients in rural and underserved areas.

Project ECHO Ontario Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the University of Toronto

Co-Chairs
Dr. Allison Crawford
Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam
Linda Mohri

Manager
Eva Serhal

Partners
Medical Psychiatry Alliance (MPA)

Funding
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
3-Year CIHR Grant (2017)