E-Consult implementation success: lessons from 5 county-based delivery systems.

Abstract

Electronic consultation, or e-consult, systems improve specialty care access by conveying specialist expertise to primary care clinicians (PCCs) without requiring specialist visits. Our study evaluates organizational factors for e-consult implementation across 5 publicly financed, county-based health systems in California. Each system serves 40,000 to 180,000 culturally and linguistically diverse patients across 4 to 19 primary care locations. We interviewed leaders whose systems received grant funding between 2015 and 2017 to plan and implement e-consult. Interviews discussed platform selection, electronic health record (EHR) compatibility, PCC and specialist opinions, and project governance. We also collected implementing systems' platform operations metrics. Mixed methods, including semistructured interviews and quantitative platform metrics. Interviews were analyzed in alignment with the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research inner setting domain. Three of the 5 systems successfully implemented e-consults. System 1 sustained implementation across 27 specialties, system 2 achieved fragmented implementation, and system 3 reported early-stage implementation. Existing PCC-specialist relationships emerged as the strongest facilitator. E-consult-EHR technology integration was also important, although an add-on platform enabled e-consult expansion in system 2. Although all systems faced challenges, such as project management resourcing, systems 4 and 5 abandoned implementation amid compound climate and readiness barriers. Successful e-consult implementations in public delivery systems leveraged (1) prior primary care and specialty care clinician relationships and (2)integrated EHR and e-consult platforms. This contrasts with common expectations that new technology will overcome care delivery gaps. Findings add to existing e-consult implementation literature that emphasizes reimbursement and leadership champions.