E-consult fosters stronger relationships between primary care providers and specialists providing teaching in multiple areas of practice. https://journals.stfm.org/familymedicine/2019/july-august/liddy-2018-0484/
Communication between primary doctors and specialists using e-consult reduces delays in specialty care and decreases costs. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/upshot/when-email-comes-to-the-doctors-office-wait-times-decrease.html
A California Medi-Cal managed care plan demonstrates support for an FQHC e-consult program.
An e-consult simulation tool estimates lead time, queue length, and specialist workload in rheumatology. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8632444/figures#figures
E-Consults provide an educational benefit to primary care providers and positively impact patient outcomes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6292825/
Connecticut e-consult program generated an average of $84 PPPM savings for specialty-related episode-of-care costs and delivered annualized Medicaid savings of $578,592. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05124?journalCode=hlthaff
Dermatology e-consult demonstrated high patient satisfaction, provider efficiency and acceptance. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1357633X18799805
E-consults eliminate unnecessary office visits and improve the efficiency of specialty referrals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003489419882726
PCPs support patient engagement in e-consult, ability to track consult status and securely message with specialists. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28940495/
E-Consults help PCPs perform a pivotal role in team management of patients with complex chronic conditions. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/econsults-an-emerging-tool-to-help-advance-the-patient-centered-medical-home.html
E-consults have the potential to unlock medical expertise for the underserved. https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.18.0122
84% of referring providers agreed that gastroenterology e-consults promoted good patient care and were satisfied with the program. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1357633X18781189
The majority of e-consults demonstrate an improved care plan and are seen as educational for the primary care provider. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1357633X18784416
Lessons learned include anticipating challenges with PCP expectations, workflow changes, and health IT adoption challenges. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2678459
E-consults improved access to and timeliness of care for an underserved population, reduced overall specialty utilization, and streamlined specialty referrals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1357633X18774468