This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.
An enterprise map and organizational growth indicator were among the tools the OMA employed in 2021.
The Office of Enterprise Risk Management, created in late 2020, strengthened the organization’s approach to integrated risk management in 2021, establishing risk appetite and tolerance and enhancing how strategic, critical and high operational risks are systematically managed. An enterprise risk management policy has been drafted and is currently under review.
While there was a requirement to have staff work from home during the pandemic, the organization is studying an eventual return to office, along with the need to develop a real estate strategy for the OMA space at 150 Bloor St. W. The lease there expires Feb. 29, 2024.
We are focusing on both short- and long-term scenarios:
The OMA conducted a Workplace Strategy Survey in June and held an all-employee town hall in October to discuss ongoing planning to return to the office. Dr. Daniel Warshafsky, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, is providing advice on the organization’s return-to-office protocols.
The early expectation is that the OMA will reduce its overall footprint and relocate staff from 150 Bloor St. W. to new office space in the first quarter of 2024. Completion of analysis and recommendations to the board are expected in the first quarter of 2022.
Cybersecurity was one of the OMA’s top priorities in 2021, with efforts to further secure internal and cloud environments using modern, next-generation capabilities, and securing the organization’s application development practices. The OMA’s administrative and technical safeguards and security processes are designed to protect both member and organizational data, as well as corporate information.
The work in 2021 has resulted in reducing vulnerabilities ranked as critical and high by 70 per cent and those ranked as medium by 50 per cent.
The organization had a strong focus on equity, diversity and inclusion in 2021, both at the member and staff levels. Central to this commitment was the hiring of Anar Amlani as manager of equity, diversity and inclusion in April. The organization also contracted with HYMIRE Consulting Services Inc. to provide an equity, diversity and inclusion audit and develop a multi-year plan.
The OMA marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30 with a week of learning and enrichment for staff, as well as external communications, including a statement from OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam. Staff have developed an approach the OMA can take to further the organization’s reconciliation efforts, including the inclusion of land acknowledgments. This early work has been informed through engagement with the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.
Serving members is at the core of what the OMA does and staff is always looking for ways to enhance these efforts. To support the Member Services Plan, several changes occurred to enhance core services. Member Services became the operational lead of Salesforce, enabling improved reporting to better tell the member story.
The front-line teams of the Response Centre and Membership Services have been integrated. This combined team resolves nearly 70 per cent of all member inquiries (excluding insurance issues). New technology tools like the telephony system and enhancements to the member database have reduced manual processes.
PatientSERV was introduced to members in April as a new service offered through the OMA Advantages program. It is an easy-to-use online platform that makes the management of uninsured services easy for physicians and their office staff. The new member offer provides real-time reports, monthly comprehensive account statements and funds automatically deposited monthly into a physician’s account.
In response to member concerns about finding and hiring locums, staff led efforts to develop a new web-based resource for physicians. Launched in November, it includes checklists and templates to support physicians looking for qualified cover, as well as physicians looking for locum opportunities.
To improve communications with members, the OMA has selected RingCentral to provide a new communications system. The purpose is to improve staff efficiency by procuring a modern, cloud-based unified communications system. This solution is fully integrated with Microsoft Teams and Salesforce. This will allow the OMA to transition from desk phones to ‘soft phones’ and improve many Response Centre functions. This new system is optimal for the remote work environment.
It has been two years since the OMA launched Member Connect, which has streamlined systems and processes to enhance the way the OMA interacts with members. This has led to improvements in the quality of services offered to members, including technological support to facilitate access to membership information and track key data on member interactions.
Since the program’s launch, more than 130,000 member inquiries have been made, and 29,732 unique touchpoints have occurred — meaning the OMA has had contact (by email or phone) with that many members during the two-year period.
This level of engagement has accelerated through the pandemic. Having more than half of OMA staff with access to receive or respond to member inquires has been beneficial. When fully implemented, this tool will significantly increase the ability to effectively respond to all member inquiries.