Case Study: Community Health Partnership of Santa Clara County
A few years ago, when a primary care provider in the Santa Clara County, California safety net referred someone to a specialist for follow-up care, they relied on the patient to set up the appointment. Within six months of being referred, 50 percent of patients had not seen a specialist. Some referrals were simply lost by patients or staff or patients had trouble reaching specialists’ offices by phone, with calls put on endless hold or dropped entirely. In some cases, mailings to patients went to the wrong addresses. Language barriers compounded these problems.
“It was unacceptable”, stated Kent Imai, MD, medical director for Community Health Partnership (CHP), a consortium of nonprofit community health centers.
E-consult has helped CHP make the most of its resources to address high demand for specialists. In the first six months of e-consult use, the flow of referrals improved considerably. E-consult referrals are now triaged in less than 24 hours, notes Imai.
E-Consult Growth across the U.S. and Abroad
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The Playbook
What is Needed to Support E-Consult Implementation and Sustainability?
Provider Engagement and Leadership
A provider champion is key to engaging the care team to embrace a process change that will improve patient access and create a more efficient referral process.
Payer Value Proposition and Ownership
E-consult programs are fostered by payer collaboration and consistent reimbursement, making workflows the same for providers whether they are treating Medicaid or Commercial-covered patients.
Streamlined Provider Technology Workflow
Primary care providers need a simple e-consult workflow and “at-the-elbow” support in order to embrace a change that can dramatically improve the specialty referral process.
Patient/Member Education and Communications
E-consults are peer-to-peer communications that result in reduced wait times and expedited specialty advice for patients, however, patients need to understand that care is taking place behind the scenes.
Case Study - Kaiser Permanente, Colorado, Specialty Care Initiative
Meet Tracy Copeland
Kaiser Permanente Colorado supports a unique program allowing community safety net primary care providers to electronically request advice (e‐consult) with select Kaiser Permanente specialists regarding their uninsured adult patients. The program also offers opportunities for medical education for the primary care providers participating in e-consult. Tracy Copeland is at the center of the program, engaging and coordinating providers to improve access to care and the overall health of the community.
Click here for more information on Kaiser Permanente's Safety Net Specialty Care Program.
How do we launch an e-consult program?
Contact BluePath Health to get started.
E-Consult Technology Providers and COVID-19 Response
The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate impact on primary care providers who were forced to limit in-person visits to ensure patient and provider safety. Delays in primary care visits exacerbated specialty care backlogs that were already months long. To address these unacceptable wait times, providers and technology vendors incorporated e-consult as a first step in their referral workflows. E-Consult technology vendors responded with free or low-cost programs for safety net providers. Providers have now expressed an increased level of acceptance of telehealth to improve their safety and optimize patient care.