In 2016, Dallas-based Parkland Health & Hospital System gastroenterology patients were forced to wait at least six months to receive consultations after patient referrals rocketed, and the health system knew something needed to change, D Magazine reports.
The system implemented an e-Consult telemedicine program and immediately began to chisel the waitlist down.
Here's what you should know.
1. Within six months of implementing the program, approximately 45 percent of all GI consultations began taking place digitally.
2. The e-Consult program allowed the health system to expand access and see patients in a more timely fashion.
3. The system allowed physicians to guarantee and keep a three-day turnaround on all digital cases.
4. Parkland's Clinical Chief of Digestive and Liver Diseases Christian Mayorga, MD, said, "The program has enabled us to provide faster answers for patients about their care, free up clinic slots for patients needing in-person visits and improve provider satisfaction."