About the Prompt Care Clinic
The Prompt Care Clinic provides short-term mental health care for individuals experiencing mild to moderate mental illness and not currently connected to other mental health services.
Referrals to this program must be made by a health care provider.
Prompt Care Clinic is not a walk-in service
It does not offer crisis or emergency services, and does not replace 911. If you, your loved one, or your patient is experiencing a mental health crisis, please direct them to the nearest emergency department.
Eligibility
The clinic serves individuals over 18 who are willing to engage in in-person or virtual care (via phone and secure video conferencing).
Individuals who are being referred must have a current address within Ontario Health East Region, Champlain LHIN. They must be physically located in Ontario at the time of our assessments.
Services offered
The Prompt Care Clinic is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that fulfills an important need within the mental health care system.
Services offered include:
- Mental health assessment, including diagnostic clarification and illness education.
- Treatment recommendations, including medications and therapies. Primary care providers are responsible for initiating treatment and providing prescriptions.
- Short-term psychotherapy and skills groups (internal referral only by the consulting psychiatrist).
We require confirmation from the referring primary health care provider that follow-up care will be provided based on our treatment recommendations. We do not offer:
- Ongoing/longitudinal psychiatric care.
- Prescriptions.
- Diagnostic assessments for ADD, ADHD, Autism, intellectual or learning disabilities.
- Assessments or opinions for third-party purposes.
- Urgent care services.
Coverage
We accept coverage by valid OHIP, the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)* and Blue Cross* for international students.
*Your IFHP certificate or Blue Cross number must be provided.
Referrals
Access to the Prompt Care Clinic requires a referral from a family doctor or nurse practitioner who can provide follow-up care after discharge. The Prompt Care Clinic does not accept referrals from ER physicians.
Primary care providers can refer individuals using the Prompt Clinic Referral Form. Please fax completed referral forms to the Prompt Care Clinic at (613) 798-2976.
To avoid delays, provide the following with your referral:
- Valid OHIP and up-to-date contact information.
- Any available psychiatry and ED reports, educational and psychological testing reports.
- Detailed past/present medication information, including dosages, duration, and effect.
- Detailed past/present substance use, if any, such as type, frequency, or amount.
Does the patient already have community supports?
If yes, please ask client to access these supports.
Has the patient seen a psychiatrist within six months?
If yes, please ask client to access this support.
Has the patient had a recent ER visit that included a psychiatric consult?
You can confirm this in the Connecting Ontario portal. Do you believe the recommendations made have been followed?
Do you anticipate the patient requiring long term treatment?
Prompt will provide up to four psychotherapy appointments.
Prompt will provide up to one psychiatry consult. It is at the discretion of the psychiatrist if a one-time follow up will be scheduled.
If it is your clinical determination the patient may require more longitudinal care, please redirect with resources.
Has the patient been referred to another program/service at The Royal?
If yes, please ask the patient to contact that program and request an update. Prompt is not a bypass into other services at The Royal. If there is an open chart for your patient within The Royal, they will be directed to contact that program.
Once we receive a referral, our team completes an initial review to determine whether clinic services are appropriate. If the referral is accepted, an update is sent to the referring care provider and the patient is placed on the waitlist.
A clinician will follow up by phone to gather additional information. Following that, a nurse will complete an intake assessment, and you will be scheduled with a psychiatrist for consultation.
If the psychiatrist determines that the patient is a good fit for the clinic’s brief psychotherapy services—and the patient agrees to proceed—next steps will be arranged.
Important
Our outgoing calls display as “The Royal,” “private” or “unknown caller.” It is important that patients check their voicemails and keep their scheduled appointments. During our initial assessments, we clarify the guidelines for unanswered calls and missed appointments.
Additional resources
Please use the links provided for additional resources to support mental health care, including tools for primary care providers and information for patients.
