BackgroundTreatment for mental illness has shifted from focusing purely on treatment of symptoms to focusing on personal recovery. Patient activation is an important component of the recovery journey. Patient portals have shown promise to increase activation in primary and acute care settings, but the benefits to tertiary level mental health care remain unknown.ObjectiveTo conduct a benefits evaluation of a Web-based portal for patients undergoing treatment for serious or persistent mental illness in order to examine the effects on (1) patient activation, (2) recovery, (3) productivity, and (4) administrative efficiencies.MethodsAll registered inpatients and outpatients at a tertiary level mental health care facility were offered the opportunity to enroll and utilize the patient portal. Those who chose to use the portal and those who did not were designated as “users” and “nonusers,” respectively. All patients received usual treatment. Users had Web-based access to view parts of their electronic medical record, view upcoming appointments, and communicate with their health care provider. Users could attend portal training or support sessions led by either the engagement coordinator or peer support specialists. A subset of patients who created and utilized their portal account completed 2 Web-based surveys at baseline (just after enrollment; n=91) and at follow-up (6 and 10 months; n=65). The total score of the Mental Health Recovery Measure (MHRM) was a proxy for patient activation and the individual domains measured recovery. The System and Use Survey Tool (SUS) examined the use of functions and general feedback about the portal. Organizational efficiencies were evaluated by examining the odds of portal users and nonusers missing appointments (productivity) or requesting information from health information management (administrative efficiencies) in the year before (2014) and the year after (2015) portal implementation.ResultsA total of 461 patients (44.0% male, n=203) registered for the portal, which was used 4761 times over the 1-year follow-up period. The majority of uses (95.34%, 4539/4761) were for e-views. The overall MHRM score increased from 70.4 (SD 23.6) at baseline to 81.7 (SD 25.1) at combined follow-up (P=.01). Of the 8 recovery domains, 7 were increased at follow-up (all P<.05). The odds of a portal user attending an appointment were 67% (CI 56%-79%) greater than that of nonusers over the follow-up period. Compared with 2014, over 2015 there was an 86% and 57% decrease in requests for information in users and nonusers, respectively. The SUS revealed that users felt an increased sense of autonomy and found the portal to be user-friendly, helpful, and efficient but felt that more information should be accessible.ConclusionsThe benefits evaluation suggested that access to personal health records via patient portals may improve patient activation, recovery scores, and organizational efficiencies in a tertiary level mental health care facility.

Violence and aggression are highly complex problems in mental health care facilities; thus, multi-faceted conflict-reduction strategies are required to mitigate and reduce violence. Safewards is an evidence-informed model aimed at preventing events that have the capacity to trigger aggression and violence. Effectiveness studies of the implementation of Safewards have shown mixed results, including that implementation strategies failed to engage staff and fidelity was low. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of implementing the Safewards model with an approach that embedded co-creation principles in the staff training. Overall, results showed high staff engagement. The average rate of attendance at the classroom-based, staff champion training (n = 108) was 79% (SD = 23). Additionally, online training modules were available to all staff and were completed by 238 of 259 forensic program staff (92%). Overall, staff perceived co-creation to be a positive strategy; staff liked being asked to be involved in the planning, felt that their voices were heard, and believed that it contributed to the success of the Safewards implementation. This study showed that the inclusion of co-creation principles in the implementation strategy enhanced staff adherence to the Safewards model as demonstrated by the high fidelity scores, and effectively led to increased buy-in and engagement of staff.

Transitions between hospital and community are particularly challenging for vulnerable adults experiencing behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of dementia. Too often, miscommunication results in triggering a recurrence of disruptive behaviours leading to frustration of staff and families. As part of the implementation of Health Quality Ontario (HQO) Quality Standards, this project involved improving transitions using an electronic-based care plan on a 23-bed geriatric dementia unit in a mental health hospital. "My Dementia Careplan," is an interprofessional care plan that was developed in the electronic medical record (EMR) to enhance communication of information between healthcare providers when patients are being discharged to the community. It is written from the patient's perspective in collaboration with the family and interprofessional team. It describes strategies to manage behavioural challenges along with the standardized tools to objectively monitor progress. This care planning will help to support transition of knowledge between hospital and community.

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Globally, mental health systems have failed to adequately respond to the growing demands of mental health services resulting in a disparity between the need and provision of treatment. Paucity of mental health care providers contributes to the aforementioned disparity. This can be addressed by engaging Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in an integrated model within healthcare teams. This paper describes the implementation of NPs as Most Responsible Provider (MRP) care of model in a specialised mental health hospital in Ontario, Canada. Guided by the participatory, evidence‐based, patient‐focused process for advanced practise nursing (APN) role development, implementation, and evaluation (PEPPA) framework, authors developed a model of care and implemented the first seven steps of the PEPPA framework – (a) define the population and describe the current model of care, (b) identify stakeholders, (c) determine the need for a new model of care (d) identify priority areas and goals of improvement, (e) define the new model of care, and (f) plan and implement the NP as MRP model of care. Within these steps, different strategies were implemented: (a) revising policies and procedures (b) harmonising reporting structures, (c) developing and implementing a collaborative practise structure for NPs, (d) standardised and transparent compensation (e) performance standards and monitoring (f) Self‐Assessment Competency frameworks, education, and development opportunities. This paper contributes to the state of the knowledge by implementing NPs as MRP model of care in a specialised mental health care setting in Ontario, Canada; and advocates the need for incorporating mental health programmes within the Ontario nursing curriculum.

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