. 2015 Jul;32(7):42-48.

Evaluation of E-Consults in the VHA: Provider Perspectives

Affiliations

¹ is a nurse scientist, is a health services researcher, is a physician, and is a health research specialist, all at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver. is a physician and is a research health science specialist at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Ohio. is a clinical consultant at the VA Office of Specialty Care Services in Washington, DC. is a research health science specialist and qualitative resources coordinator, is a physician, and is a research investigator, all at VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Battaglia, Dr. Lambert-Kerzner, Dr. Sayre, Dr. Ho, Ms. Haverhals, Dr. Au, and Dr. Helfrich are affiliated with the VA's Seattle-Denver Center of Innovation. Dr. Battaglia, Dr. Lambert-Kerzner, and Dr. Ho have faculty appointments at the University of Colorado in Aurora. Dr. Aron is a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Sayre, Dr. Au, and Dr. Helfrich have faculty appointments at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Catherine Battaglia et al. Fed Pract. 2015 Jul.

. 2015 Jul;32(7):42-48.

¹ is a nurse scientist, is a health services researcher, is a physician, and is a health research specialist, all at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver. is a physician and is a research health science specialist at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Ohio. is a clinical consultant at the VA Office of Specialty Care Services in Washington, DC. is a research health science specialist and qualitative resources coordinator, is a physician, and is a research investigator, all at VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Battaglia, Dr. Lambert-Kerzner, Dr. Sayre, Dr. Ho, Ms. Haverhals, Dr. Au, and Dr. Helfrich are affiliated with the VA's Seattle-Denver Center of Innovation. Dr. Battaglia, Dr. Lambert-Kerzner, and Dr. Ho have faculty appointments at the University of Colorado in Aurora. Dr. Aron is a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Sayre, Dr. Au, and Dr. Helfrich have faculty appointments at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Abstract

As VHA expands the use of e-consults, this study suggests that they often are more timely than are face-to-face consultations.

Author disclosures The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.

1. Chen AH, Murphy EJ, Yee HF., Jr eReferral—a new model for integrated care. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(26):2450–2453. - PubMed
1. Hanna L, May C, Fairhurst K. The place of information and communication technology-mediated consultations in primary care: GPs’ perspectives. Fam Pract. 2012;29(3):361–366. - PubMed
1. Kim-Hwang JE, Chen AH, Bell DS, Guzman D, Yee HF, Jr, Kushel MB. Evaluating electronic referrals for specialty care at a public hospital. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(10):1123–1128. - PMC - PubMed
1. Straus SG, Chen AH, Yee HF, Jr, Kushel MB, Bell DS. Implementation of an electronic referral system for outpatient specialty care. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2011;2011:1337–1346. - PMC - PubMed
1. Horner K, Wagner E, Tufano J. Electronic consultations between primary and specialty care clinicians: early insights. Issue Brief (Commonw Fund) 2011;23:1–14. - PubMed