eConsult for Doctors

Why eConsult?

In a world where time is short and patient demand is ever growing, eConsult purports to give GPs a welcome break from juggling phone calls and face-to-face appointments. By letting patients submit queries online, doctors can review cases on their own time and direct patients appropriately. Simples, right?

Here’s what eConsult aims to do for busy clinicians:

• Reduce front-desk overload: Patients can quickly submit non-urgent requests online.
• Improve access: In theory, patients can fill out a consultation 24/7 from anywhere.
• Streamline administrative tasks: By providing structured forms, eConsult seeks to cut back on phone-tag and pointless visits.

Making eConsult Work in Practice

Even the best digital tools aren’t magic. Implementation matters. GPs must keep an eye on incoming eConsult forms, triage them promptly, and ensure clarifications or follow-up appointments are arranged swiftly. Depending on the practice, this process can feel like running a marathon in wellies. Manageable, sure, but not always elegant!

“Our practice loved the concept of eConsult but found it occasionally clunky for certain patient queries.” – A slightly exasperated GP

Integrating with EMIS and SystmOne

GPs will breathe a sigh of relief knowing eConsult integrates with both EMIS and SystmOne. This means patient details and consultation notes can feed back into the clinical record. However, you may still need manual intervention to tidy things up and ensure the data flows seamlessly.

Potential Pitfalls

While eConsult has grown in popularity, it hasn’t been all sunshine and daisies. Some GPs report the following issues:

• Patients bunging in multiple eConsults for the same issue, resulting in unnecessary duplicate admin.
• Lack of flexibility in the triage journey – with minimal customisation for local services.
• Limited direct appointment scheduling from eConsult forms, meaning staff still spend time calling patients to confirm.

Alternatives: Enter Hero Health

If eConsult isn’t the perfect fit, fear not – you have other options! Hero Health is a 45p-per-patient, per-annum solution that offers sleek online triage alongside integrated messaging and booking. It harnesses features like Care Navigation & Triage, so GPs can build their own custom pathways, taking patients swiftly to the right service without the headache of repeated manual sorting.

Unlike some alternatives, Hero’s Care Navigation Triage is highly configurable – you can direct patients towards self-help resources, pharmacies or local services first, while keeping vital GP appointments open for those who really need them. Automatic data capture and appointment scheduling are all in one place, with minimal fiddling around.

Extra Reading

If you’d like to check out more on eConsult, have a peek at Common Questions About eConsult. Or learn the basics of eConsult's functionality in eConsult: How Does it Work?

Final Thoughts

For many practices, eConsult acts as a stepping stone to digital-first care. It eases some of the typical springtime hay fever queue pressures, but can be tricky to configure for more complex demands. If you're seeking a flexible solution that won’t break the bank, Hero Health has you covered. From scheduling to triage, Hero keeps everything in one integrated system. So, if eConsult doesn’t quite cure all your operational headaches, you can always pop over to Hero for a second opinion.