Digital Health News

In collaboration with the Ontario eConsult Centre of Excellence, the eHealth Centre of Excellence is leveraging the Ocean eReferral Network as part of an eConsult/eReferral Proof of Concept (POC). This POC will work to understand how integrating technologies can support clinical workflows, increase efficiencies, enhance patient care, and improve both provider and patient experience.

Currently, there are 10 specialists in the fields of Cardiology, Endocrinology, Neurology, Orthopedic Surgery, Paediatric Psychiatry, Sports Medicine, and Urology participating in the POC. Within their Ocean eReferral form, there is language indicating that they may respond back to the referral request with an eConsult if clinically appropriate.

Click the image above to view a demo of the POC workflow.

We’re excited to share that this past month, the POC had its first end-to-end eConsult completed through Ocean eReferral (with the previous 9 eConsults proceeding as an eReferral).

Currently, primary care providers can send an eConsult directly to specialists through the OTN Hub. eConsults have been shown to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals, with one primary care provider noting that 8 out of 10 eConsults she conducted to date avoided referrals to specialists.

This timely access to experience-based specialist knowledge means patients do not have to wait to be seen in-person by a specialist, enabling them to stay home and reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19.