Law Times

Law Times • January 9, 2012 NEWS Thomson Rogers launches online trauma resource directory BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times I n response to concerns that almost half of the victims of serious trauma accidents are discharged from hospital without appropriate support, law fi rm Th omson Rogers has launched a new resource site to allow lawyers, insurance adjusters, health professionals, and accident victims to access vital information on health practitioners. Th e new off ering at trau- maresourcedirectory.com is in- tended to be a free compre- hensive listing of all qualifi ed service providers throughout Ontario. It allows health prac- titioners to upload information about them, including their area of specialization, years of experience, the area of the province they service, and the languages they speak. Th e di- rectory is publicly accessible at no cost and with no restrictions. Darcy Merkur, a partner at Th omson Rogers, explains the impetus behind the new service. "Over the last few years, we would repeatedly get phone calls from caseworkers in motor ve- hicle accidents, social workers, and discharge planners at hospi- tals asking if we knew of anyone who speaks a certain language or practises in a particular area," he says. "For example, if you have a French-speaking patient who needs to be discharged in Wasaga Beach, you need someone to in- spect the home and give physio- therapy. Th at's pretty obscure." Merkur believes people called his fi rm out of hopes that it could help because there was no other way to fi gure things out. "Th ere was nowhere to turn and no on- line option. If you do a Google search, you get the Yellow Pages. It might have the address but it doesn't tell you anything." Merkur's usual response was to circulate an e-mail internally to the roughly 25 personal injury lawyers within the fi rm. "It's a large internal network," he says. "I would also post e-mails on the Ontario trial lawyers web site. I eventually decided that what would really help was a directory that health professionals could put their information on." Th e Th omson Rogers mar- keting department then took up the idea and set up a Facebook site for the rehabilitation com- munity. Th e site is searchable in a number of ways, including by location, language, treatment needs, area of specialization, and the age of the patient. Th ere's also a keyword search. "In developing the project, we recognized that we were not primarily doing it for us," says Merkur. "It's for the health com- munity and hospital workers. It can also be used by insurance companies, other law fi rms, and family at the hospitals." Given the wide application, www.lawtimesnews.com BRIDGE THE GAP the fi rm consulted with a focus group of half a dozen health workers who gave guidance on the information they needed and how the site should look and work. One member of the focus group was Nick Gurevich, executive director of Function- Ability Occupational Th erapy Services in Vaughan, Ont. He believes the project is an interest- ing and innovative concept that he hopes health-care providers will embrace. "After Th omson Rogers came up with the concept of the direc- tory, I was asked to provide some thought as to how it would oper- ate, who would use it, and who would benefi t," says Gurevich. "We brainstormed some ideas and made some revisions to the original concept." He believes the site can now generate proper referrals from service takes the guessing game out of it. You can co-ordinate the services required before dis- charge." Gurevich is aware that social 'It will be a valuable tool for all personal injury lawyers and for insurance companies who are looking to assist the insured,' says Darcy Merkur. community health-care workers. "Th ere is community care after service, but there are signifi cant delays and uncertainties. Th is workers, discharge workers, and nurses have very little time and resources to make sure discharges go according to plan. "Th ey are often concerned that they don't know what happens to the pa- tient after discharge. Th is con- cept should make their lives much easier. It provides a really good tool to hook up with prop- er resources and proper care." Th ose involved already con- sider the web site a big success. "Well over 300 people have signed up since the launch," says Merkur. "I've had a number of calls and e-mails from people who have had success fi nding someone with it and I have found it useful myself. I had a call from someone looking for a Punjabi- speaking occupational therapist. Normally, it takes a long time to e-mail inside and outside the fi rm, review the responses, and verify the information. With this tool, I did it in two seconds. Th e person who got the new client was very grateful and the person looking for the help was very grateful, too." So far, the fi rm has concen- trated on marketing the web site to health workers. "Until it has scale, it is useless," says Merkur. "But with well over 300 names, it is beginning to build up. We are just starting to bring to the attention of the personal injury bar that there is access to the free service. It will be a valuable tool for all personal injury lawyers and for insurance companies who are looking to assist the insured." PAGE 5 GET THE FULL PICTURE OF THE LAW WITH WESTLAW® CANADA INTELLIGENT FINDING TOOLS Leave nothing to chance with finding tools that ensure you never miss a case on point. Westlaw Canada gives you finding tools that work as smart as you do. Decades of editorially created classifications combined with powerful technology ensure that you never miss a case on point. No matter which search option you choose, you'll always find exactly what you need using fewer steps. 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