Not long ago, Dr. Andrea Waddell from Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care worked alongside a team at Waypoint and York University to develop a Mental Health Adverse Events Prediction Tool. The tool is an early warning system that uses machine learning to flag potential mental health adverse events.

With the success of this tool, the next step was creating a standardized response or care plan when the alert is fired – turning information into action. This is where Dr. Jennifer Crawford's expertise came in.

By leveraging HIROC's Collaborate Safety Grant, Andrea and Jennifer co-created the Human in The Loop Project with clinicians and patients, focusing on a clear clinical response pathway and a patient centered care plan that is activated by the alert.

On this episode, Andrea and Jennifer share the four phases of their project, how they welcomed different perspectives when solving complex challenges, and the value of a co-design approach to support clinicians and patients.

Interested in whether a project you're planning could be eligible for a HIROC Safety Grant? 2026 Applications for HIROC's Safety Grants Program are open until September 10! Learn more here: https://www.hiroc.com/about-us/safety-grants-program

Quotables:

"This work is really about making sure this machine learning alert is embedded into a human-centered, standardized workflow at Waypoint, so we can support safer, more timely, and patient-centered care." – J.C

"This (tool) takes advantage of existing EMR data, doesn't take any more effort from the clinicians, and it tells us people who are at high risk of having an adverse event, which allows us to intervene and ideally prevent the adverse outcome." – A.W

"By intervening prior to deterioration, patients can be engaged in the process. We can say you know, 'It looks like maybe you're not doing that well, how can we help you?' and they can let us know what they need and ideally, we can meet those needs. And we can reduce the likelihood that these adverse events take place." – A.W

"Our patient client family council members bring a very powerful lived experience, whether that's themselves or via their family members. Those insights are so important, they help us, challenge our assumptions, they keep us grounded in real world care." - J.C

Mentioned in this Episode:

• HIROC Safety Grants Program
• Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
• York University
• Christo El Morr
• Elham Dolatabadi

Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast

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