Dr. Nazanin Alavi, co-program medical director for KHSC's Mental Health and Addiction Care Program, and creator of the Online Psychotherapy Tool Platform.
Mental health programs across the country are facing long wait times. For many people, the delay in getting care can make their condition worse, resulting in a mental health crisis. At Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), Dr. Nazanin Alavi is using technology to help change that.
Dr. Alavi and her team introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted triage system in the Mental Health and Addiction Care program. Between 2023 and 2024, it helped cut appointment wait times by more than 50 per cent.
“If a patient doesn't get timely care, a mental health condition could evolve and they could end up in the emergency department," said Dr. Alavi. “That's not ideal because Mental health needs a structured approach, not emergency intervention."
The Online Psychotherapy Tool Platform (OTTP) uses machine learning to assess each patient's needs and recommend the appropriate level of care. Patients are invited to share their story and complete secure online questionnaires. Their responses, along with information from the referral source, are analyzed by the platform, which then triages them to the most suitable care pathway and resources. If someone is in crisis, the system immediately flags it for urgent intervention.
The triage platform also connects patients with diagnosis- and needs-based online therapy modules led by trained therapists. While patients wait for their first appointment, nursing staff offer support and can adjust care if a person's needs change. This helps lower the risk of a crisis.
“This is about using technology to offer more personalized care," said Dr. Alavi. “It's AI-assisted, not AI-led. It supports our team so we can focus on connecting people with the right care, faster." The results have been strong. In 2023, the outpatient mental health clinic handled about 3,000 referrals, with a wait time of 16 months. After the AI system launched as a trial in 2024, wait times dropped by more than half.
Dr. Alavi has always been interested in how technology can help people.
“I started designing therapy modules in 2007 during my postdoc at Queen's," she said. “People faced long wait times and limited access to care. At the time, I had to send the modules by email, it wasn't scalable or secure, but it was a start. The OPTT platform was developed in 2018 to deliver care more effectively, with the ultimate goal of making therapy more accessible, inclusive, and culturally adaptable."
In January 2025, Dr. Alavi received additional funding from the Ontario Centre for Innovation to continue using the AI platform. Her team has also formed research partnerships with other universities and plans to expand the approach to KHSC's inpatient unit. Where it can support measurement-based care by helping clinical teams set clear goals, monitor symptom changes, and connect patients with the most appropriate care. It can also decrease readmissions and reduce the chances of someone needing to return to the emergency department.
“Traditional questionnaires only show how someone feels in that exact moment," Dr. Alavi said. “But people's symptoms can change from day to day. With this system, patients journal regularly, and we use AI to track those changes over time. The patterns and graphs we see help the care team understand what's really going on and make better treatment decisions."
At its core, this project is about improving access to mental health support and helping the community.
“I'm proud of how this started from nothing when I first came to Kingston," said Dr. Alavi. “This platform is an important way to advocate for patients and I'm hopeful we can make a change in mental health. Kingston is home, and I believe this can really make a difference in the community."