Senior Medical Lead, Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division 

The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (The Royal) is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care, teaching, and research hospitals. As a specialized academic health sciences centre, The Royal is committed to helping people living with mental illness and addiction into recovery faster. With over 500 beds and 19,000 outpatients served annually, The Royal delivers innovative, evidence-informed care across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings including forensic psychiatry, geriatric mental health, operational stress injuries, schizophrenia, mood disorders and substance use disorders. Its campuses span Ottawa and Brockville, with strong partnerships across the region and province.  

The Position 

The Senior Medical Lead, Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders, will provide clinical and leadership oversight to the Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division at The Royal. This large division is tasked to provide addiction medicine services to the Ottawa Region. As the only provider of inpatient medical management of withdrawal and bed-based concurrent disorders treatment program in the Ottawa Region it treats the most acutely unwell patients in the Region both medically and psychiatrically.  

Reporting to the Medical Director, General Psychiatry, the Senior Medical Lead leads medical operations and contribute to strategic directions for the clinical services of the Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division. They ensure high standards of care for patients living with mental health disorders in alignment with The Royal’s mission and vision.  

The Senior Medical Lead is responsible for developing and implementing evidence based clinical procedures promoting collaboration across multidisciplinary teams, supporting physicians and clinical staff in setting standards. 

The role also includes ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and fostering a culture of clinical excellence. This position is integral in advancing the hospital’s objectives, enhancing patient care, improving access to services, and promoting a patient-centered approach in all aspects of service delivery. 

Key Accountabilities: 

Medical Leadership & Service Integration 

• Provide leadership: plan and maintain clinical services across the Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, values, and patient care standards. 
• With the Director of Patient Care Services, develop, implement, and maintain clinical policies, guidelines, protocols, and standard operating procedures for mental health and addiction services, integrating evidence-based practices to enhance patient care while leading a collaborative multidisciplinary team. 
• Attend regular scheduled management meetings including the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) as a voting member, the Medical Leadership Team (MLT), and the Clinical Leadership Team (CLT). They also organize and lead regular meetings with the physicians and nurse practitioners of the Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division. 
• Participates in the planning and implementation of new information technology to improve patient care and clinical workflows. 
• Participate in the recruitment and selection process for physicians and other healthcare staff within the Substance Use & Concurrent Disorders Division, ensuring the recruitment and development of qualified professionals to meet organizational needs. 

Collaboration and Communication: 

• Foster and participate in relevant partnerships within the Royal, and throughout the Eastern Ontario region. 
• Facilitate collaboration between physicians and healthcare providers within and outside divisions in the Royal to create integrated care plans, supporting a holistic approach to patient care and ensuring positive outcomes for patients and their families throughout their mental health and addiction journey. 
• Foster a positive, inclusive work environment, promoting open communication and respect for diverse perspectives within the medical team. 
• With the Director of Patient Care Services, ensure that a process is in place for disciplinary action as necessary: Provide a process for resolution of clinical disputes, including liaison with the Manager, Client and Family Relations when necessary. 
• Be part of the reporting and investigation process for critical incidents 
• Follow up on physician complaints and ensure appropriate action and resolution as appropriate, including timely communication with the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff. 
• Ensuring, usually via communications and regularly scheduled meetings, that the Physicians in the division: (i) are adequately aware of the activities of The Board, Senior Management Team, and the MAC: and (ii) provide input and share their concerns about the role and activities of the Division. 

Compliance and Quality Assurance Leadership: 

• Ensure that clinical care is determined by: 
• Evidence-based approaches, best practices, and clinical practice guidelines where they exist, or in the spirit of discovery and innovation, encourage the safe delivery/development of novel approaches where they do not. 
• Support the standardization of clinical services, where appropriate, and the implementation of measurement-based care to inform clinical decision making, monitor outcomes and drive quality improvement initiatives. 
• Outcome, service evaluations and quality of care/critical incident reviews. 
• Ensuring that all physicians within the division are compliant with the expectations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. 
• Ensuring that clinical coverage of all patients receiving care within the division is continuous, including matters relating to coverage (vacations, leaves of absence, retirements or deaths), as well as cooperation with the on call and after-hours medicine groups. 

Budgeting and Resource Optimization: 

• Actively participates in resource allocation decisions in the division through the annual budget planning process. 
• With the Chief of Staff/Medical Director, ensures that all stipendiary physician fees are administered according to the needs/priorities of the division, and within the assigned budget. 
• With the Director of Patient Care Services, ensure a mechanism is in place to regularly monitor resource allocation and utilization and jointly determine corrective action, when required. 

Medical Human Resources: 

• Anticipate the Division’s requirements for input into the hospital’s overall physician resource plan. This includes assisting the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff with physician recruitment to meet the Division’s physician staffing needs. 
• Ensure physician job descriptions are developed and kept up-to-date for each physician within the Division. 
• Monitor medical staff clinical performance and provide feedback as necessary. 
• Complete the annual performance reviews of each physician in the Division (with the assistance of the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff). Where physicians work across more than one division, the annual performance review is the responsibility of the SML (or ML) of the division where the physician works the most, in consultation with the SMLs or MLs of the other divisions. 

All leadership roles at The Royal are expected to: 

• Actively demonstrate The Royal’s iCARE values: innovation, collaboration, accountability, and respect by seeking improvements, working collaboratively with colleagues and clients, taking ownership of their actions, and promoting a respectful and inclusive workplace culture. 
• Work in a manner that complies with staff and patient/client safety practices, policies and procedures of The Royal. 
• Ensure a work environment that is conducive to the Royal’s Anti-Racism, Harassment, Discrimination-Free workplace and work safety policies and practices. 
• Demonstrate commitment to health equity, values diversity and contributes to an inclusive working environment. 
• Support the department/unit by performing other duties as necessary to uphold organizational standards and contribute to both clinical and administrative functions, where applicable. 

The Candidate 

You are a physician licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario with 4-8 years of clinical experience in the addiction medicine field or substance use and concurrent disorders field, including at least 3 years in a leadership role within addiction medicine, medical services or mental health services. You have in-depth knowledge of modern addiction medicine practices, evidence-based therapies, and mental health clinical care standards, including those specific to inpatient and outpatient settings.  

You bring a systems mindset to clinical leadership, with the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics while maintaining a focus on patient and family needs. Your leadership experience reflects not only operational oversight, but also the ability to influence culture, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and improve clinical outcomes at scale. You understand the importance of physician engagement and are committed to building strong, accountable teams that thrive in a culture of trust, performance, and a shared purpose. 

Education/Professional Credentials: 

• Licensed physician in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. 
• Certificate of Added Competence in Addiction Medicine; or a suitable combination of education and experience. 
• Strong track record of academic activities; must be eligible for an academic appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher

Appendix 1 

Services provided by the Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders Department include: 

A Rapid Access Addiction Medicine clinic where patients can be referred or self refer for support with alcohol or opioid use disorders. It is also where any patient thought by another healthcare provider to require inpatient medical management of withdrawal (Assessment and Stabilization Unit) or the Concurrent Disorders Unit/Services can be assessed for appropriateness for these services. Through this clinic we start patients on opioid agonist therapy for severe opioid use disorder and do outpatient medical management of alcohol withdrawal.  

Day Detox – for patients who are too unwell (physically or psychiatrically) for our usual outpatient detox in RAAM clinic but don’t necessarily need an admission for detox, they can spend the day in our clinic, being closely medically monitored and treated for their alcohol withdrawal.  

Regional Opioid Intervention Service – a service for patients aged 30 and below who have been using opioids for less than 2 years to receive comprehensive outpatient support including stabilization on opioid agonist therapy, social work support, individual psychotherapy, psychological or psychiatric assessment and connection to other services in the community or in the SUCD department.  

Transitional Aged Youth Service – an interdisciplinary intensive outpatient service for patients aged 16 to 24 who have moderate to severe substance use disorders and moderate to severe concurrent disorders that is affecting their function. This program is housed at a shopping centre not far from the Royal. Patients are followed by either an addiction medicine physician or a psychiatrist and another clinician – either a social worker or a psychologist. The services offered by this team are offered in person, or virtually.  

Assessment and Stabilization Unit – a 12 bed inpatient unit for patients requiring inpatient admission for medical management of their withdrawal. This includes patients with complicated withdrawal from alcohol, sedatives, opioids and on occasion other substances. We also admit patients for withdrawal services who are too psychiatrically complex to be managed anywhere else in the region.  

Concurrent Disorders Unit (CDU) – a 12 bed bed-based treatment program for patients with severe substance use disorders and severe concurrent disorders to receive interdisciplinary care to support them in achieving their recovery goals. This includes group based psychotherapy focused on building skills to improve mental health and reduce the risk for return to use or reduce harm related to use. Patients are followed by an addiction medicine physician while admitted but can be referred to psychiatry or psychology for diagnostic clarification and/or medication recommendations if appropriate.  

Concurrent Disorders Virtual program – a virtual program offered to patients in the Ottawa Region or in Northern Ontario. They attend the same type of groups as the CDU inpatients but virtually. Patients are followed by an addiction medicine physician while admitted but can be referred to psychiatry or psychology for diagnostic clarification and/or medication recommendations if appropriate.  

Youth – medical detox or concurrent disorders inpatient program offered on the Youth unit to patients aged less than 25. Patients stay on the Youth unit but attend the CDU groups on the CDU.