OTNhub Telemedicine Service Manager (TSM)/Ncompass: Description of Services

OTNhub is leveraging advancements in technology to better equip its members with real-time information, convenient and collaborative tools needed to schedule patient appointments through a secure and private network that safeguards patient privacy. To reach this goal, and provide flexibility and control over scheduling activity, OTNhub has implemented guidelines for direct online scheduling and coordination between health care providers and patient sites across Ontario through the use of its external online scheduling tool Ncompass, and TSM which is an OTNhub tool and used by some OTNhub members. Ncompass is member-facing and offers less functionality than TSM but relies on TSM to operate.

OTNhub’s Telemedicine Services Manager (TSM) application was developed to provide a robust, centralized means of scheduling elective virtual care applications. TSM provides customized workflow management for scheduling patient consultations, group therapies, educational events, administrative meetings, and general-purpose web-stream events. In order to support this functionality, the system also maintains a database of health care providers, virtual care site locations, and support staff.

How the Technology Works

The Ncompass application was developed in response to a need for a simplified and limited view of TSM’s scheduling repository, to be used by Virtual Care (Telemedicine) Coordinators in remote locations. The application shares the same underlying middle tier code base with TSM with the only significant difference being in the presentation tier.

From a technology perspective, due to the fact that Ncompass is a simplified and limited view of TSM targeted for different audience, TSM and Ncompass are treated as one application within OTNhub, however there are slight differences in the information presented and architectural design between TSM and Ncompass. TSM realizes all the same features of Ncompass with additional functionality as is OTNhub’s proprietary software.

OTNhub members are identified by a site number and system number on the network so that the videoconferencing systems may be scheduled using TSM or Ncompass. This enables OTNhub members that want to connect to one another to have a videoconference appointment through site and system association.

It’s quick, easy to use and flexible as it allows members to schedule events at any time and anywhere, provided there is internet connectivity up to 30 minutes prior to launching the event. The Ncompass application provides you with the capability to effectively manage your system end points as well as access detailed information in real time.

Through site and system association, employees at various member sites who have access to those systems may view some personal health information related to patient telemedicine appointments whether they are providing care to that patient or not.

Benefits

• Ncompass allows you to register for upcoming public educational events across the province or schedule your own educational event that you can host.
• Ncompass allows you to schedule all of your clinical virtual care appointments including clinical events between one consultant and one patient, or one consultant seeing multiple patients often located at more than one site.
• The Ncompass calendar updates with all of your scheduled events and allows you to leave electronic notes for other schedulers and Ncompass users to access.
• Ncompass also offers a powerful reporting feature that generates activity reports that can be organized by site or by region. In short, Ncompass keeps track of all your videoconferencing activity since it lets you see where you’ve been, what you’re doing and where you’re going.
• TSM has a robust search feature and different user interface than Ncompass.
• TSM Users can book Off-Net and ISDN systems, non-member sites and can schedule bridges that belong to other organizations and out of province.
• TSM Users can add audio lines to an event.

Safeguards

For information about Ontario Health safeguards, visit Safeguards for the Protection of Personal Information and Personal Health Information.

See our Contact page to find information on how to contact the Ontario Health Privacy Office.