Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A large academic hospital system (Allegheny Health Network) introduced inpatient electronic consultations (e-Consults) during the COVID-19 crisis. Providers were invited to complete an anonymous survey on their perceptions of e-Consults. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze Likert-scale data....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Patient Experience |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211007696 |
| _version_ | 1818850178792161280 |
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| author | Nitin Bhanot MD, MPH George Dimitriou MD Lori McAninch RN, BSN, MHMS/MBA Caitlan Rossi MA Diane Thompson MS Susan Manzi MD, MPH |
| author_facet | Nitin Bhanot MD, MPH George Dimitriou MD Lori McAninch RN, BSN, MHMS/MBA Caitlan Rossi MA Diane Thompson MS Susan Manzi MD, MPH |
| author_sort | Nitin Bhanot MD, MPH |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A large academic hospital system (Allegheny Health Network) introduced inpatient electronic consultations (e-Consults) during the COVID-19 crisis. Providers were invited to complete an anonymous survey on their perceptions of e-Consults. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze Likert-scale data. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess internal consistency. Ninety-five providers completed the survey. Requesting and consulting providers agreed that e-Consults were easy to use (100% and 96.2%, respectively). Both groups also concurred that e-Consults either decreased or did not significantly impact their workload (81% and 74%, respectively) and that training was appropriate (77.8% and 86.8%, respectively). The advantage and barrier selected most frequently by specialists was “timelier completion of the consult versus in-person” and “inadequate information to complete the consult,” respectively. The disadvantage selected most frequently by requesting physicians was “lack of communication between providers.” Open-ended comments were categorized into themes. Concerns were raised regarding whether provider–provider communication via this platform offered enough information to make recommendations compared to traditional encounters. The perceived benefits and barriers of e-Consults should be further explored with the goal of improving patient care delivery and provider satisfaction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T06:45:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-270f7d887b1d457da5fe07802caaafe2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2374-3743 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T06:45:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Patient Experience |
| spelling | doaj.art-270f7d887b1d457da5fe07802caaafe22022-12-21T20:31:55ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Patient Experience2374-37432021-04-01810.1177/23743735211007696Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 PandemicNitin Bhanot MD, MPH0George Dimitriou MD1Lori McAninch RN, BSN, MHMS/MBA2Caitlan Rossi MA3Diane Thompson MS4Susan Manzi MD, MPH5 Division of Infectious Disease, Medicine Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Internal Medicine, Medicine Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Medicine Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Medicine Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Medicine Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Medicine and the Autoimmunity Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USAA large academic hospital system (Allegheny Health Network) introduced inpatient electronic consultations (e-Consults) during the COVID-19 crisis. Providers were invited to complete an anonymous survey on their perceptions of e-Consults. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze Likert-scale data. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess internal consistency. Ninety-five providers completed the survey. Requesting and consulting providers agreed that e-Consults were easy to use (100% and 96.2%, respectively). Both groups also concurred that e-Consults either decreased or did not significantly impact their workload (81% and 74%, respectively) and that training was appropriate (77.8% and 86.8%, respectively). The advantage and barrier selected most frequently by specialists was “timelier completion of the consult versus in-person” and “inadequate information to complete the consult,” respectively. The disadvantage selected most frequently by requesting physicians was “lack of communication between providers.” Open-ended comments were categorized into themes. Concerns were raised regarding whether provider–provider communication via this platform offered enough information to make recommendations compared to traditional encounters. The perceived benefits and barriers of e-Consults should be further explored with the goal of improving patient care delivery and provider satisfaction.https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211007696 |
| spellingShingle | Nitin Bhanot MD, MPH George Dimitriou MD Lori McAninch RN, BSN, MHMS/MBA Caitlan Rossi MA Diane Thompson MS Susan Manzi MD, MPH Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic Journal of Patient Experience |
| title | Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Perspectives of Health Care Providers in an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network on Inpatient Electronic Consultation (e-Consult) Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | perspectives of health care providers in an integrated health care delivery network on inpatient electronic consultation e consult use during the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211007696 |
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