TMCnet News
New results from CFHI: Innovative program improves patient access to specialist medical advice in primary care across CanadaOTTAWA, July 18, 2019 /CNW/ - The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI), in partnership with Canada Health Infoway, the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, is announcing the successful expansion of provider-to-provider remote consult services, improving patient access to specialist advice in primary care in seven provinces. Through the 18-month Connected Medicine: Enhancing Primary Access to Specialist Consult collaboration, primary care providers initiated more than 12,300 remote consults with specialists to support patient care. Teams from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Department of National Defense, enrolled more than 2,200 primary care practitioners and 800 specialists, including many in underserved rural and remote regions. These practitioners can now access specialist consults through secure digital technology and telephone services. The result is that eligible patients get care based on specialist advice closer to home, by a primary care provider they know and trust. The process is typically faster than being referred for a face-to-face specialist appointment and often avoids unnecessary trips to the emergency department. Connected Medicine Results:
Participating teams are at different stages in their individual implementation given varying program launch dates, program scope, local needs, and provider availability. In some regions, as many as 38 specialties were made available for remote consultation with primary care providers. The most commonly available specialty was psychiatry. Cardiology, nephrology, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics were the next most frequently offered specialties. Four services also offered palliative care consults. Results by Team, including highlights, are available in the Backgrounder.
Results from this collaboration are consistent with those that have been achieved through original implementations of these two innovations. Champlain BASETM currently provides access to 114 specialty groups and 1,000 cases each month in Ontario, with a median response time of 21 hours and nearly two thirds (65 percent) of cases resolved without requiring patients to attend a face-to-face specialist visit. An evaluation of data from RACETM found that 60 percent of RACE calls appropriately avoided a face-to-face visit with a specialist and 32 percent of calls appropriately avoided hospital emergency department visits. Quotes "Scaling remote consult solutions to more health systems across Canada makes a real difference for patients and clinicians," said Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO of CFHI. "Primary care providers are more confident in their ability to treat patients thanks to timely specialist advice, and access to a remote consult means these patients get the right care, closer to home, and can often avoid longer waits for a specialist appointment or an unnecessary trip to the emergency department." "Streamlining the consultation process through eConsults is good for patients, good for clinicians and good for the health system," said Canada Health Infoway President and CEO Michael Green. "Infoway is proud to be a partner in this important initiative that is improving the way we deliver care in Canada." "The expansion of eConsult services is solid proof of the value of 'connected medicine' in terms of access and costs, for patients and for specialists providing care," said Dr. Andrew Padmos, CEO of the Royal College. "We look forward to working with our partners to make virtual care accessible to all patients in all parts of Canada." "The ability to enhance patient care through convenient remote consultation is central to our vision of family practice, as a Patient's Medical Home," says CFPC Executive Director and CEO Francine Lemire, MDCM, CCFP, FCFP, CAE, ICD.D. "Leveraging technology in this way minimizes unnecessary appointments, reduces visits to the emergency department, and allows family doctors to better meet the needs of patients and their families." "Access to specialist advice remains a barrier for many people due to long wait times, geography and living in complex circumstances. We are thrilled to see the expansion of the BASETM eConsult model across Canada and the impact it has made on equitable access to specialist care while supporting and strengthening the role of primary care," said Dr. Clare Liddy, a family doctor with The Ottawa Hospital Academic Family Health Team and Associate Professor with the Department of Family Medicine, uOttawa and Dr. Erin Keely, an endocrinologist with The Ottawa Hospital, co-founders of Champlain BASETM. "RACE has been very well received by both family physicians and specialists. Family physicians can access advice in a timely way and specialists report feeling good about supporting their colleagues. Best of all, patients are positive about their ability to access specialist care in a timely manner," Margot Wilson, Director, Shared Care & Virtual Health with Providence Healthcare and Garey Mazowita, Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, co-founders of RACETM. For more information: https://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/WhatWeDo/connected-medicine Additional resources: About the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement CFHI is a not-for-profit organization funded by Health Canada. Visit cfhi-fcass.ca for more information. About Canada Health Infoway About the College of Family Physicians of Canada Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada. SOURCE Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement |