Volume 17 | Fall 2022
HITS eHealth Office
eServices Insider
NEW: Send an eConsult
Directly From Your EMR via Ocean

The Ontario eServices Program and our partners at Ontario Health and Ocean by CognisantMD are excited to announce a new integration which enables clinicians to send eConsults to the Ontario eConsult Service on OTNhub directly from their integrated EMR via Ocean.

The Ontario eServices Program understands how important it is for primary care providers to have access to tools that improve access to specialist advice while saving valuable time.

The “Ontario eConsult Service” is now available on the OceanHealthMap allowing clinicians to initiate an eConsult using Ocean to submit through to the OTNhub.

EMRs eligible for this integration are Telus PS Suite EMR, OSCAR EMR, and Accuro EMR.

Need support developing a workflow to send eConsults through Ocean? Fill out an intake form or contact us at econsult@hitsehealth.ca.
How Will You Benefit?
Did You Know?
eServices is Fully-Funded by Ontario Health
eServices Deployment Teams across Ontario are available to support you with implementing Ocean eReferral and eConsult into your clinical workflow. There is no cost to use either Ocean eReferral or OTN's eConsult solution; all set-up and training is also provided.

The HITS eHealth Office and the eHealth Centre of Excellence have teamed up to support the deployment of these two tools to primary care providers and specialists in Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) region.
How Do I Get Started?
Account & Technical Set Up Requirements
This integration requires you to be set up with Ocean eReferral. eReferral simplifies the referral process by enabling quick and secure referrals to be sent and received through an electronic platform. 
Specific workflows vary depending on what EMR you are using. Contact us at econsult@hitsehealth.ca and we will arrange a quick virtual demo for you customized to your EMR and clinic's workflow.
Write your eConsult question as a note in the patient's chart in your EMR.

Select it, and any desired patient chart details to be included – as an attachment, to your eConsult case.
Initiate eConsult using the Ocean eReferral workflow in your EMR by clicking the 'Refer' button on the Ocean toolbar, then search for and select the "Ontario eConsult Service" listing in the Ocean HealthMap. Click the Send Ontario eConsult button.

If using TELUS PS Suite click on the "ON eConsult" button on the Ocean toolbar.


Need support installing the Ocean toolbar? Reach out to us at econsult@hitsehealth.ca.
Once the Ocean form loads, please review the form to ensure patient information and attachments have loaded successfully, then click the Send and Launch eConsult button.

Login to OTNhub, choose the specialty/specialist you wish to submit the eConsult to and click Send. Patient demographic fields will be automatically populated. Your eConsult note, along with the attachment created in the EMR will be added to the eConsult, with the default text of 'See attached' in the Request field.
You will receive an email notification when the specialist has provided a response, including a direct hyperlink to the case.

The eConsult response from the specialist can be accessed directly from the OTNhub web-platform. It will not auto-populate into the patient's chart.

You can download a copy of the eConsult response as a PDF by using the 'PDF' icon in the top right while viewing the eConsult on OTNhub.ca. You can then upload the PDF into your patient's chart.
Important Considerations Regarding Delegates

Submission of eConsults through Ocean must be done independently by the clinician. Delegates cannot submit eConsults on behalf of a clinician via the Ocean-based workflow.

Delegates may continue to support retrieval of eConsult responses and additional follow-up questions, using OTNhub.ca.
Options for Sending eConsults in Ontario
Did you know there are now four options for sending eConsults?

  • Send eConsults via OTNhub.ca
  • Send eConsults via OTNhub.ca leveraging a delegate
  • Send eConsults from your EMR via Ocean eReferral workflow
  • Send eConsults via direct EMR integration

View the resource below to learn more about how each option works, how patient information is managed and what option is best for your practice.
The HITS eHealth Office, as eConsult Deployment Lead for Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) region is available to work with you to find the best option for your practice and assist you with setup and training.
Register a Resident Physician as your Delegate

eConsult provides opportunities to enhance learning and knowledge sharing by managing patient cases at the family practice level, where patient trust is often highest.
Did You Know you can nominate a resident physician or physician assistant on your team as your delegate? Although residents and PAs cannot send their own eConsults, they can send eConsults under your supervision as a delegate.

Contact us at econsult@hitsehealth.ca to set up your delegate(s).

Request a Specialist
Is your preferred specialist not available on eConsult? Send us an email at econsult@hitsehealth.ca notifying us of the specialist you wish to send eConsults to and we will do our best to recruit them to the service!
HNHB Specialists Available on eConsult
Did you know there are now over 300 specialists from Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) region that are available to answer your eConsults on OTNHub?

Specialists participating in the Ontario eConsult Program are committed to improving access to specialty care in Ontario and reducing wait times for patients. All specialists are vetted prior to enrolling as consulting specialists in the service and are expected to provide collegial and educational responses to eConsults in less than 7 business days. Currently, the median response time in Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) region is less than one day.

Specialists who participate in a Provincial or HNHB BASE™ Managed Specialty Group are recruited, have over 5 years of experience in their specialty and indicate a desire to contribute to knowledge sharing and education with primary care providers.

In addition, the HITS eHealth Office oversees these groups, which means we’re able to support if response times are delayed due to specialist unavailability or you’re finding a particular specialist isn’t providing high quality responses.

Have you tried sending an eConsult to one of our 34 HNHB BASE™ Managed Specialty Groups?
The HNHB BASE™ Managed Specialty Groups are supported by local specialists practicing in Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) region.

The benefits of sending your eConsult to these groups include specialist awareness of local services and supports and increasing collaboration and knowledge transfer between providers practicing in the same region.

Click to view our list of groups and learn how to set your Priority Region on OTNHub to allow your eConsults to be sent to a local group by default.
Data as of September 2022. This data has been reproduced with permission from the Ontario eConsult Centre of Excellence. For more information, please contact eConsult@HITSeHealth.ca.