Innovating & Transforming eHealth Solutions
We are here to support you!
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- Welcome Dr. D. Singh, Clinical and Advanced Heart Function Cardiology
- eConsult in Long Term Care: Feasibility Study
- Adoption of eConsult Continues to Climb
- Highlights from a study of The Utilization of eConsult During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic
- Accredited eConsult Webinar Series
- Ontario eServices Program: eReferral
- Book an eConsult Training Session
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Preparing for Increased Wait Times for Patients | |
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Sometimes referring a patient to see a specialist is unavoidable. As the we enter Spring many patients will be contacting their primary care provider to address their health concerns, many of whom will need to see a Specialist. As we have seen wait times to see a specialist has grown. eConsult can be used to manage your patient care while they are waiting to see a Specialist.
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You can send any eConsult to a specialist to seek advice on: | |
- If a referral is required
- What tests to order in preparation for your patient’s Specialist visit
- How to manage your patient's care while they wait to see a Specialist
- Confirm a proposed treatment plan
- Get recommendations for medications
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eConsult welcomes Dr. Singh! | |
Dr. Dhssraj Singh, MD, FACC
Clinical and Advanced Heart Function Cardiology
A native of Malaysia, Dr. Singh earned his medical degree from the National University of Ireland – Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) / Penang Medical College (PMC) program. His residency in internal medicine took place at the renowned Cleveland Clinic, followed by fellowships in cardiology, heart failure, cardiac transplantation, and Mid-America Cardiology at the University of Kansas and Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Singh is American Board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Echocardiography.
A list of his scientific publications in the field of heart failure, chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, cardiac transplantation, acute coronary syndrome, and valvular heart disease is available here.
In addition to English, Dr. Singh is also fluent in Malay and semi-fluent in Punjabi.
If there are Specialists you would like to send eConsults who are not currently onboarded please let us know and we will approach them and offer to support their onboarding.
We are also eager to support any Physicians or Nurse Practitioners that wish to join the eConsult platform. Please reach out to us at digitalhealth@transformsso.ca and we will assist with your onboarding. For those organizations with new providers, we would welcome your help to locate those that are yet to join the platform.
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Adoption of eConsult Continues to Climb | |
- Now over 3,500 primary care providers are actively using eConsult, more than 100,000 eConsults were sent on behalf of Ontario patients in the last 12 months.
- Over 1,800 Specialists are now available to provide eConsults across Ontario, with a median response time of less than one day.
- The Ontario eConsult Service is excited to have launched 14 new Provincial BASE groups including Post-COVID-19 and Provincial LGBTQIA Sexual Health specialties.
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Highlights from a study of The Utilization of an Electronic Consultation Service During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic | |
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Jatinderpreet Singh, MD, Erin Keely, MD, Sheena Guglani, MSc, Gary Garber, MD, Clare Liddy, MD, MSc
Click here for complete study https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0497
Abstract
Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced many clinicians to rapidly adopt changes in their practice. In this study, we compared patterns of utilization of Ontario eConsult before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to assess COVID 19's impact on how eConsult is used.
Results
Provider Enrollment
At the start of the study period, 5,472 PCPs had signed up to the OTN Hub. By the end of the study period, 5,925 additional PCPs had joined, for a total of 11,397 enrolled PCPs. The number of active PCPs increased as well, growing from 1,496 in February 2020 to 2,086 in November 2020 (Fig. 1). Although numbers increased consistently month to month, the rate of growth accelerated substantially after the outset of the pandemic, with a 2.1-fold increase in new PCPs between the prepandemic and pandemic timeframes. The most pronounced increase in new registrants came in March 2020, when the lockdown was initiated in Ontario, with a 9.5-fold increase in new monthly PCP registrants relative to the month prior (i.e., February 2020). Similarly, there was a sharp 8.5-fold increase in specialists who signed up to Ontario eConsult in March 2020 relative to the month prior.
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Fig. 1. Number of active PCPs on the Ontario eConsult Service per month. PCPs, primary care providers. | |
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The mean number of eConsult sent per month increased from 2,405 eConsult per month (standard deviation [SD] = 260) during the prepandemic timeframe to 3,906 (SD = 420) during the pandemic timeframe. Case volume increased by 71% during the pandemic timeframe, with 2,704 cases submitted on February 2020 versus 4,624 cases submitted November 2020. As with registration, the largest one- month increase in eConsult sent (24.3%) occurred between February and March 2020.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that PCPs increased their use of eConsult during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. As Specialist offices shut down or had limited availability, PCPs looked to innovative virtual tools such as eConsult to get Specialist advice.
Recognizing the value of eConsult in supporting PCPs during the pandemic, COVID-19 specific subspecialty groups (i.e., COVID-19-infectious disease, COVID-19 vaccine allergy and immunology group, COVID-19 and pregnancy, COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases, and a COVID-19 public health group) have been established on the service to support providers and navigate new information related to COVID-19. Future studies will examine the utilization and value of such groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Accredited eConsult Webinar Series | |
Join us for 8 half-hour sessions about the benefits of eConsult in your practices. Receive up to 4 credits from the College of Family Physicians and the Royal College!
Watch Session 1 Recording
Session 2: Endocrinology and eConsults with Dr. Robyn Houlden
Watch Session 2 Recording
Session 3: Cardiology and eConsults with Dr. Cathy McLellan
Watch Session 3 Recording
Session 4: Gastroenterology and eConsults with Dr. Lawrence Hookey
Watch Session 4 Recording
Session 5: Hematology and eConsults with Dr. David Lee
Watch Session 5 Recording
Session 7: Neurology and eConsults with Dr. Albert Jin
Friday, May 27, 2022 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Register here!
Dr. Albert Jin is an Associate Professor in Neurology at Queen's and a specialist in cerebrovascular disease. He is the Medical Director for the Regional Stroke Network of Southeastern Ontario. To learn more, visit this website.
Session 8: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and eConsults with Dr. Sarosh Khalid-Khan
Friday, June 10, 2022 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Register here!
Dr. Sarosh Khalid-Khan is a staff psychiatrist in the Division of Child and Youth Psychiatry at Queen's University. She has been at Queen's University since 2008 and has been in several clinical and administrative roles. She specializes in management of complex psychiatric presentations in children and youth, psychopharmacology, and family therapy. To learn more, visit this website.
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Ontario eServices Program: eReferral | |
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The Ontario E services program delivers digital services that support clinical workflows and facilitate smoother transitions in care and an improved patient experience. eConsult and eReferral are the first initiatives in the scope of the Ontario eservices program.
eReferral is a secure and seamless transfer of patient information from one point of care system into another, via an electronic platform for the purpose of engaging another provider in the care of a patient.
- The program is funded to provide local change management resources to support implementation, training, adoption, and sustained use
- The solution-generated data enables comprehensive analytics to support local and system level decision making
- Referral status and appointment details are updated directly in providers EMRs (Telus PS Suite EMR, Accuro EMR and Oscar EMR) or the Ocean Portal (non-EMR users)
- Patients received automatic email notifications on their referral status and appointment information
- This eReferral initiative has been funded since 2017 as part of the System Coordinated Access Program (now part of the Ontario eServices Program)
Looking for more information? Contact us at DigitalHealth@transformsso.ca
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Why Set your eConsult Priority Regions? | | |
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- Setting your priority region to Erie St Clair gives access to local specialists within the Erie St Clair regional based managed specialty groups automatically
- Without setting priority regions, cases can only be sent to provincial groups
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Book a Team Training Session | |
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Are you part of or run a family practice, community health centre or hospital unit? Reach out to us today to book a group training session for your fellow staff.
We can cover:
- How to create an OTNHub account
- How to submit any eConsult directly to a Specialist
- How to submit any eConsult to an Erie St. Clair Regional Specialty Group
- How to utilize a delegate to save time
Email us at digitalhealth@tranformsso.ca to book your session today.
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