Electronic Consultations (eConsults)
Electronic consultations (eConsults) connect clinicians over a secure platform to share patient information. Specialists can review information and make recommendations about diagnosis and treatment. The evidence suggests it can be a triple win for patients, clinicians, and payers: it increases access to specialist care, patient and clinician satisfaction, and decreases costs. The Milbank Memorial Fund published a policy brief by Center authors Aasta Thielke and Valerie King that was based on an evidence and policy report for the Medicaid Evidence-based Decisions Project. Erica Brown, Program Officer at the Milbank Memorial Fund also wrote a companion blog post about the potential increased value of eConsults during the COVID-19 pandemic.