Pulmonology

Asthma

SPECIALTY
Pulmonology

CHIEF COMPLAINT
Asthma

COMMENTS TO SPECIALIST
A 37-year-old female patient presenting for asthma. The patient reports that she developed asthma as an adult five years ago and that her asthma is not well-controlled. A cough wakes her from sleep five nights per week. Symptoms have not improved after multiple medications. In the clinic, she has slight wheezing upon auscultation, a hoarse voice, and partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) is 94%.

MAIN QUESTION
I think the next step would be to add a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA), but I am concerned that the patient has not seen improvement after adding medications. Do you recommend additional testing?

Creating Connections: Physician Consultation with Specialists

An online doctor consultation with a specialist is designed to remove barriers in our healthcare system that make referrals complex and challenging for PCPs and patients. To optimize patient care, physicians are increasingly embracing tools and resources, including evolving telehealth solutions, that extend their clinical offerings without delegating patient care. Online doctor consultation, or eConsult, solutions are creating a peer-to-peer communication channel between individual PCPs and a range of specialists.

Using this technology, the providers can confer, share the patient’s medical history, and collaborate on a care plan. The patient remains in the capable hands of the PCP while benefiting from specialized medical expertise.  Online doctor consultation or using referrals play a central role in our healthcare system. Primary care providers (PCPs) deliver essential first-line health services that combat the specialist doctor shortage.

Additionally, eConsult technology has obvious benefits for patients who could not otherwise afford to see a specialist.

• Liddy et al estimated $1,100.93 per eConsult in total savings was associated with the technology.
• Dullet et al showed that eConsults produced average cost savings of $156 per patient