Fast Facts
- 47% decrease in unnecessary specialist referrals
- 63% increase in eConsults in the last year
- 99 BASE Managed Specialty Groups now available
See below for full details!
South East region specialists continue to do an outstanding job responding to eConsults in a timely manner. The median response time is 1.3 days, which means primary care providers and their patients are receiving specialist advice in under 2 days in the majority of cases. All eConsult cases are responded to within 30 days, and 94.9% of cases within 7 days or less. The South East region is keeping pace with the provincial numbers.
| South East Region | Provincial | |
| % Cases Answered in 7 Days or Less | 94.9% | 96.3% |
| % Cases Answered in 30 Days or Less | 100.0% | 99.9% |
| Median Response Time | 1.3 Days | 1.0 Days |
| Median Time Spent on eConsult | 15 Minutes | 15 Minutes |
| Median Cost per eConsult | $50.00 | $50.00 |
12 Month Snapshot in the South East Region: 63% increase from last year!
Over 12 months from May 2019 to April 2020 a total of 3,889 eConsults were sent in the South East region, which is a 63% increase when compared to May 2018 to April 2019, where a total of 2,382 eConsults were sent. As the graph below shows, there continues to be an upward trend in the number of eConsults sent each month over time. Keep up the great work!
Number of eConsults Sent per 1,000 People:
The South East region is currently second in the province for the number of eConsults sent per 1,000 people. When we presented this same data in our December 2019 newsletter we were third in the province, so we continue to see an increase in the number of eConsults being sent. We’re so proud of our requesting clinicians for continuing to use eConsult and raising our ranking to #2 in the province!
eConsult Fiscal Year Trends:
It is very promising to see a continued increase in the number of eConsults being sent in the South East region. The graph below compares the fiscal year trends from 2017/2018, 2018/2019, and 2019/2020. If we compare fiscal year 2017/2018 to our most recently completed fiscal year of 2019/2020 we see a dramatic increase of 73% in the number of eConsults being sent. Not surprisingly we see a decrease in eConsults being sent in December around the winter holiday, when all of our providers take a much deserved break!
eConsults Sent by Specialty in the South East:
The top three specialties being accessed by requesting clinicians for eConsult in the South East region are Dermatology (15%), Hematology (10%), and a tie between Cardiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology (7%), and Neurology (7%). Looking back retrospectively these top specialties have remained consistent over time.
Provincially, the top three specialties are Dermatology (13%), Hematology (9%), and a tie between Endocrinology and Metabolism (7%), and Obstetrics and Gynecology (7%).
Find a complete list of the over 100 available specialties in the South East region on our website.
Survey Results: Data for April 1, 2018 to March 26, 2020.
As indicated in the chart below, we can see that unnecessary referrals were avoided in 47% of cases. We can also see that in 20% of cases specialists were able to confirm with the eConsult sender that a referral was not required. This really empathizes the strengths of eConsult, as unnecessary specialist visits increase the specialist wait time for patients that really need to be seen.
Requesting clinicians continue to indicate that they are receiving good advice from specialists for a new or additional course of action (55%) and that they are able to confirm a course of action that they originally had in mind (41%).
We would like to thank all requesting clinicians who take the time to complete the previous two survey questions when marking an eConsult complete. This provides valuable data that supports the Ontario eConsult Program and shows the many benefits of this service.