The Provincial Spread and Scale of the Ontario eConsult Service: Evaluation of the First 2 Years

Clare Liddy; Rhea Mitchell; Sheena Guglani; Ariana Mihan; Claire Sethuram; Andrea Miville; Erin Keely

doi:10.1370/afm.2812

The Provincial Spread and Scale of the Ontario eConsult Service: Evaluation of the First 2 Years

Ann Fam Med. 2022 May-Jun;20(3):262-265. doi: 10.1370/afm.2812.

Authors

Clare Liddy^{1

2

3}, Rhea Mitchell³, Sheena Guglani^{4

3}, Ariana Mihan⁴, Claire Sethuram⁴, Andrea Miville³, Erin Keely^{3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada cliddy@uottawa.ca.
² Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
³ eConsult Centre of Excellence, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

This paper reports on a multimethod cross-sectional study of the Ontario electronic consultation (eConsult) service. Utilization and closeout survey data from July 2018 through June 2020 were analyzed using the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Requesting clinicians submitted 60,474 eConsults, and monthly cases increased from 1,487 in July 2018 to 4,179 in June 2020. The median specialist response time was 1 day. An originally contemplated referral was avoided in 51% of cases. Ontario eConsult showed successful uptake across Ontario, demonstrating continued spread and scale, and offering a template for trailblazers looking to implement digital health innovations in their own jurisdictions.

Keywords: digital technology; eReferral and eConsultation; health services accessibility; heath care quality, access and evaluation; telemedicine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Ontario
Primary Health Care
Referral and Consultation
Remote Consultation*