Promote safety.
Improve crisis outcomes.
Effective oversight.
Compassionate and evidence-based response to mental health crisis situations.
Development Funded By:
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
Health Technologies Fund
National Research Council Canada
Industrial Research Assistance Program
Digital Public Safety System
HealthIM software supports first responders during emergency mental health crisis calls
The system is designed to promote safety for both the responder and the person in crisis, improve outcomes for individuals suffering from unmanaged mental health challenges and promote effective oversight.
HealthIM Consists of Four Components
Pre-Response Safety Briefing
Prior to establishing contact with a person in crisis, responders review a brief synopsis of critical safety factors including de-escalation techniques, any known triggers and contextual information compiled from previous contact.
Mental Health Risk Screener
Responders complete a digitized version of the interRAI™ Brief Mental Health Screener (BMHS). The BMHS provides rapid on-scene evaluation of risk and uses clinically validated algorithms to assist in evaluating risk of harm and determining appropriate outcomes. www.interRAI.org.
Inter-Agency Communication
Secure community networks facilitate wireless transmission of on scene observations to hospital, community mental health and other partner agencies. Advanced notification prior to hospital transport facilitates improved transfer of care.
Reporting and Analytics
Real-time access to de-identified aggregate response data via secure analytics portal and automated reporting. Provides timely access to key metrics and insights for agency leadership, community partners and policy makers.
Program Benefits
Increase Safety
Responders alerted to care considerations prior to establishing contact with a person in crisis.
De-escalation information supports peaceful resolution of interactions.
Weapons possession and violent behaviour flagged for responders and healthcare staff.
Improve Crisis Outcomes
Notification system alerts community partners to incoming persons escorted by emergency responders.
Standardized clinical language supports care planning at partner agencies.
Responders empowered to make outcome decisions based on the needs of the person in crisis.
Effective Oversight
Standardized digital format allows for real time analysis of performance data.
Support for Quality Assurance and Professional Standards personnel.
Aggregate anonymized data provides insights into response patterns and performance metrics for policy makers.
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B.C INVESTS $2M IN APP TO HELP POLICE DEAL WITH CRISIS RESPONSE
City News
Police forces across B.C. will have another tool in their belt come Thursday, as the province begins to roll out a program that it says will help officers deal with those facing mental-health or substance-use crises.
Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth explained Wednesday that the Port Moody Police Department will begin using HealthIM, a digital public safety program, on March 7, before the program is rolled out to other jurisdictions over the next two years.
“Police officers in our province have seen first-hand the impacts and challenges when responding to mental-health or substance-use crisis-related calls,” said Farnworth.
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ALBERTA TO EXPAND ROLLOUT OF APP THAT HELPS POLICE RESPOND TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS
Global News
The Alberta government will continue the rollout of a program designed to help police officers respond to mental health crises.
The digital program, named HealthIM, will give police officers information to help someone experiencing a mental health emergency. The program will also help increase officers’ safety and ensure effective use of emergency resources, the province said.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will be the first police service to start using HealthIM beginning in July, and the Alberta government plans to expand the program to other areas over the next year in a phased approach.
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SMARTPHONE APP HELPS BRANDON POLICE NAVIGATE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, CONNECT PEOPLE WITH RESOURCES
CBC News
It's a call police agencies across Canada get all too often — someone in mental distress threatening to harm themselves or others around them. But Brandon police say a new app […] has helped more easily de-escalate situations and connect people to the most appropriate resource.
Police in the southwestern Manitoba city began using an app called HealthIM last summer.
The app guides officers through a clinical risk assessment — a number of questions focused on the behaviours and actions of the person they have encountered.
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DELTA POLICE FIRST IN B.C. TO USE NEW TECH TOOL FOR CALLS INVOLVING MENTAL-HEALTH CRISES
Vancouver Sun
Emergency physicians at Surrey Memorial Hospital are calling a handy new app being used by Delta police a “transformational change” that will improve care for individuals experiencing a mental-health crisis.
Delta police became the first police force in B.C. to use the HealthIM app that’s linked to the Surrey hospital’s emergency department. Police responding to calls involving a mental-health concern use a 25-question checkbox tool based on their observations of the individual. Once they input the information into the app on their mobile phones, they see a score that determines whether an individual needs to be apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to the ER.
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FORCED TO THE FRONTLINES OF MENTAL HEALTH: POLICE HAVE BECOME THE NEW FIRST RESPONDERS FOR VULNERABLE CANADIANS
The Globe and Mail
Let’s say a police officer is called to a person’s home. They’ll probably go inside to check out their living conditions, chat with family or roommates and observe the person on the way to hospital. If they know what to look for, these are details that might be valuable to time-strapped hospital staff. But often, police officers say, they don’t have an easy way to share this information.
One Canadian-made solution being adopted by departments across the country is a mobile program called HealthIM, which gives police a medical checklist to assess a person’s risk level for self-harm, harm to others and an inability to care for themselves.
Protection of an Individual’s Privacy Rights
All data owned by the emergency response agency which created it.
All personally-identifying information is anonymised and decrypted at source.
Privacy Compliance
System access is limited to authorized first responders and all activity is tracked via audit log. Information is anonymized at source for transmission and data is end-to-end encrypted both in transit and at rest.
Data Security
Compliant with FIPS 140-2 and CSE cryptographic standards for “PROTECTED B” data. Fully redundant Tier III server infrastructure. 4096 bit RSA encryption across TLS protected channels.
Contact us to learn more about the HealthIM system.
HealthIM in the Community
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“Operational expediency and efficiencies in uniform patrol operations were realized. The ability to leverage information across different public service sectors has improved our policy development, staffing and tactical decision making. We have a stronger understanding of those in our community suffering from mental health challenges and are responding in a safer and more coordinated fashion.”
— Deputy Chief Gord Perrier, Deputy Chief Operations
Winnipeg Police Service -
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“HealthIM provides seamless, collaborative engagement between our clients, our community partners, and interagency programs. It allows for community partnerships to continue to look for innovative ways to assist an individual through their mental health, or, crisis situation.”
— Jodine Szabo
Westman Crisis Services Prairie Mountain Health -
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“As a community addictions and mental health service provider we are very excited about the increased level of referrals and engagement the HealthIM software has helped create. Police have become one of our largest external sources for referrals. Implementing HealthIM in our community has lead to more people becoming engaged in the healthcare system and receive the support they need to maintain wellness.”
— Derek McGeachy, Senior Manager of Operations
Addictions and MH Services - Hastings Prince Edward
