Where do you go for healthcare if you don't have OHIP? A student-led initiative!

Every Saturday morning a group of students, preceptors, and doctors congregate in a small clinic to help the marginalized community of Torontonians who are unable to find help through the conventional healthcare system.

We are of course talking about IMAGINE Clinic, (Interprofessional Medical and Allied Groups for Improving Neighbourhood Environments) which is an interprofessional, student-run community health initiative aimed at promoting and providing healthcare to the core neighborhoods of downtown Toronto.

Situated in downtown Toronto on Bathurst street, IMAGINE runs every Saturday from 10am to 2pm. It is a clever way of connecting students in medical related fields to work directly with healthcare professionals to treat patients. It is an invaluable opportunity for students to develop themselves professionally.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the decision making that goes on behind the scenes in the healthcare space. Everyone brings some skillset to the table whether it is a physiotherapy student taking a look at a foot injury or a social worker helping someone through their anxiety. Each student’s diverse background helps the clinic better treat the various patients that come through the door.

The clinic operates in a roundtable fashion where the preceptors, students, clinic flow managers, and physicians all get together in one room to discuss each individual patient case, then assign the appropriate people to take care of that patient. Once it is done, they return to the room to discuss more and eventually come to a conclusion. All patient information is announced on an ongoing basis and people are always moving in and out of the room to treat the patients.

That’s where Hypercare comes in, we aim to solve the communication issues that arise when people are constantly moving around the clinic. We have been piloting at IMAGINE for the past few weeks and we have achieved a better understanding of how to address the pain points in their current workflow so the clinicians and students can worry less about communication and spend more time treating patients.

I look forward to the coming few weeks at IMAGINE as our product improves. It been a wonderful experience thus far seeing how people act now that they have Hypercare in their hands.