A Pooled Electronic Consultation Program to Improve Access to Genetics Specialists.

Area of Science:

• Medical Genetics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Increasing demand for genetics expertise necessitates innovative service delivery models.
• Traditional access to genetics specialists can be a bottleneck in patient care.

Approach:

• Implementation of an electronic consultation (e-Consult) service at Massachusetts General Hospital to address genomics-related inquiries.
• The service managed 153 requests in its first year, completing 122 consultations within an average of 3.2 days.

Key Points:

• The e-Consult service demonstrated efficiency, with a rapid turnaround time for consultations.
• Actionable recommendations were provided in 95 e-Consults, with 82% documented follow-through by ordering clinicians.
• The service was utilized by a diverse range of providers, predominantly generalists (77%).

Conclusions:

• Electronic consultation models are a viable strategy for expanding access to specialized genetics care.
• The findings support the integration of e-Consults into healthcare systems to bridge the gap in genetics expertise.