Akinox eConsult used in study underlying its effectiveness in significantly reducing wait time in urban and rural settings
A recently published article in the Journal of Medical Internet Researchunderlines how Akinox’ eConsult platform is effective, efficient, and well received by both patients and physicians. Furthermore, researchers highlight that, if used more widely, eConsult could help reducing wait times significantly.
Akinox is proud to have been a part of this study, supported by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement and the Canadian Institute for Health Research. Titled Improving the Referral Process, Timeliness, Effectiveness, and Equity of Access to Specialist Medical Services Through Electronic Consultation: Pilot Study, it explored how a digital platform of electronic consultations can help improve patient outcome.
Researchers established an eConsult service covering urban and rural communities through six clinics (four urban and two rural) located across three different regions of the province of Québec: Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and Mauricie. Between 4 July 2017 to 8 December 2018, 1016 eConsults were generated by 97 primary care physicians submitting requests to 22 specialty groups and were answered by 40 different specialists. The most popular specialty was internal medicine, at 22%. A whopping 63% of completed cases did not require a face-to-face visit, many of which would have come at a significant cost, both in time and money, to the patient and healthcare system.
Primary care physicians rated the service as being of high or very high value for themselves in 98% of cases. If used more widely, eConsult could help reducing wait times significantly, and recently, the Ministry of Health and Social Services of Québec has identified as a top priority the development of a strategic plan to scale electronic consultations throughout other regions of the province.
The Akinox Team would like to thank Veronique Nabelsi (BSc, MScA, PhD), Annabelle Lévesque-Chouinard (MD, CCFP), Clare Liddy (MSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP), and Maxine Dumas Pilon (MD, CCFP, FCFP) for their trust. Akinox is very proud to have contributed decisively to the success of this study, which is available here.
For contact: press@akinox.com