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  3. Guide to Receiving eConsults

Guide to Receiving eConsults

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Note for Ontario Users: In Ontario, Ocean eConsults are currently in a limited release. For more information on eConsult in Ontario as part of the Ontario eServices Program, please review the Overview of eConsults in Ontario article.

  1. Accessing Your eConsults

    Learn how to access eConsult requests that have been received in your Ocean site.

    Med Access Accuro Ocean Portal
      • Begin from the Med Access homepage or within a test patient's chart and click the "Launch" button. This will cause any downloaded extensions in your EMR to appear in a new window.
      •  
      • Within the "My extensions" window, locate "Ocean by CognisantMD" and click on "View Portal". This will launch you into your Ocean site from an internet browser.
      •  
      • From your Ocean site, ensure that you are on the eReferrals page by clicking "Menu" and then "eReferrals & eConsults" under the "Ocean Provider Network" heading.
      • From the eReferrals page, verify that the "Received" folder is expanded by clicking on it. Next, select "New" to bring up all new eConsult requests coming into this Ocean site. Under "New", you should see a number of other sub-folders that pertain to an eConsult's stage such as "Accepted as eConsult" and "eConsult in Progress".
  2. Reviewing New eConsult Requests

    Review eConsult requests that have been tagged as new before completing any further action with them.

    Clicking on an eConsult request in the "New" sub-folder causes it to open in a new page.

    Here on the lefthand side, you can find information about the patient and referring provider. Under the "Messaging" header on the right, you can view relevant attachments that might have been included by clicking on the purple eye icon next to the file. Additionally, you can send a message to the referring provider by typing into the text box and clicking "Send".

    Note: If a clinic administrator is accessing the eConsult request, they will not have access to the "Respond as an eConsult" checkbox. This is only available to providers.

    However, administrators can utilize the "Needs review" field in the bottom left to assign an eConsult to a specific specialist by clicking on the text box and choosing their Ocean user account. This specialist will be able to see the eConsult in their "For Me" sub-folder.

  3. Accepting an eConsult Request and Importing it into Your EMR

    If you accept an eConsult request, you must verify that the patient's information was successfully imported into your EMR.

    Accepting an eConsult request

    To accept the eConsult request, simply click on the blue "Accept eConsult" button.

    Importing an eConsult

    Med Access Accuro Ocean Portal
      • Once the eConsult has been accepted, a window will appear confirming that the patient has been sent to Med Access with an Ocean reference number. The status at the bottom should change from "Awaiting confirmation" to "The patient information was successfully imported into Med Access" when Ocean has either updated the patient's existing chart or created a chart for the net new patient in your EMR.
      • It is suggested that you close out of this window and verify that the patient's chart was created or updated in Med Access at this point.  
      • You should now notice that the eConsult has moved into the "Accepted as eConsult" sub-folder. This status update will also be reflected for the referring provider.
  4. Responding to an eConsult

    If you have accepted an eConsult request, you should reply to the referring provider with relevant information.

    Clicking on an eConsult that is in the "Accepted as eConsult" sub-folder will cause it to open in a new page. 

    To send a message to the referring provider, type in a response in the text box. Ensure that the box next to "Respond as an eConsult" is checked and select an accurate timespan from the "Billing time" dropdown for tracking purposes. Once these conditions are met, click "Send" and the referring provider will be notified that you have responded.

    To exit out of this window, click the blue "Reviewed & Close" button in the middle of the page.

    The eConsult will now shift into the "eConsult in Progress" sub-folder.

  5. Tracking an eConsult in Progress

    Determine what action must be taken with an eConsult after the referring provider has responded.

    After an eConsult has moved into the "eConsult in Progress" sub-folder, the referring provider can respond in three ways. They can: 1) reply to your message with further questions/information, 2) mark it as "Complete", or 3) request that it proceeds as an eReferral.

    In the first two cases, the eConsult will move into the "Needs Review" folder. If "Proceed with eReferral" is selected, the eConsult will be converted back into an eReferral which can be found in both the "New" and "Needs Review" folders.

    From the "Needs Review" sub-folder, you must click on the request to determine what action needs to be taken. If you click on the eConsult and note it is marked as completed, you simply have to click the blue "Reviewed & Close" button and it will be moved into the "Completed" sub-folder.

    For users accessing this area through the Ocean Portal

    Please note that you will have to click the "Download" button again when the eConsult has moved into the "Needs Review" folder. This ensures that new content received from the referring provider has been captured before you mark it as "Reviewed".

Accessing Your eConsults

Learn how to access eConsult requests that have been received in your Ocean site.

Med Access Accuro Ocean Portal
    • Begin from the Med Access homepage or within a test patient's chart and click the "Launch" button. This will cause any downloaded extensions in your EMR to appear in a new window.
    •  
    • Within the "My extensions" window, locate "Ocean by CognisantMD" and click on "View Portal". This will launch you into your Ocean site from an internet browser.
    •  
    • From your Ocean site, ensure that you are on the eReferrals page by clicking "Menu" and then "eReferrals & eConsults" under the "Ocean Provider Network" heading.
    • From the eReferrals page, verify that the "Received" folder is expanded by clicking on it. Next, select "New" to bring up all new eConsult requests coming into this Ocean site. Under "New", you should see a number of other sub-folders that pertain to an eConsult's stage such as "Accepted as eConsult" and "eConsult in Progress".

Reviewing New eConsult Requests

Review eConsult requests that have been tagged as new before completing any further action with them.

Clicking on an eConsult request in the "New" sub-folder causes it to open in a new page.

Here on the lefthand side, you can find information about the patient and referring provider. Under the "Messaging" header on the right, you can view relevant attachments that might have been included by clicking on the purple eye icon next to the file. Additionally, you can send a message to the referring provider by typing into the text box and clicking "Send".

Note: If a clinic administrator is accessing the eConsult request, they will not have access to the "Respond as an eConsult" checkbox. This is only available to providers.

However, administrators can utilize the "Needs review" field in the bottom left to assign an eConsult to a specific specialist by clicking on the text box and choosing their Ocean user account. This specialist will be able to see the eConsult in their "For Me" sub-folder.

Accepting an eConsult Request and Importing it into Your EMR

If you accept an eConsult request, you must verify that the patient's information was successfully imported into your EMR.

Accepting an eConsult request

To accept the eConsult request, simply click on the blue "Accept eConsult" button.

Importing an eConsult

Med Access Accuro Ocean Portal
    • Once the eConsult has been accepted, a window will appear confirming that the patient has been sent to Med Access with an Ocean reference number. The status at the bottom should change from "Awaiting confirmation" to "The patient information was successfully imported into Med Access" when Ocean has either updated the patient's existing chart or created a chart for the net new patient in your EMR.
    • It is suggested that you close out of this window and verify that the patient's chart was created or updated in Med Access at this point.  
    • You should now notice that the eConsult has moved into the "Accepted as eConsult" sub-folder. This status update will also be reflected for the referring provider.

Responding to an eConsult

If you have accepted an eConsult request, you should reply to the referring provider with relevant information.

Clicking on an eConsult that is in the "Accepted as eConsult" sub-folder will cause it to open in a new page. 

To send a message to the referring provider, type in a response in the text box. Ensure that the box next to "Respond as an eConsult" is checked and select an accurate timespan from the "Billing time" dropdown for tracking purposes. Once these conditions are met, click "Send" and the referring provider will be notified that you have responded.

To exit out of this window, click the blue "Reviewed & Close" button in the middle of the page.

The eConsult will now shift into the "eConsult in Progress" sub-folder.

Tracking an eConsult in Progress

Determine what action must be taken with an eConsult after the referring provider has responded.

After an eConsult has moved into the "eConsult in Progress" sub-folder, the referring provider can respond in three ways. They can: 1) reply to your message with further questions/information, 2) mark it as "Complete", or 3) request that it proceeds as an eReferral.

In the first two cases, the eConsult will move into the "Needs Review" folder. If "Proceed with eReferral" is selected, the eConsult will be converted back into an eReferral which can be found in both the "New" and "Needs Review" folders.

From the "Needs Review" sub-folder, you must click on the request to determine what action needs to be taken. If you click on the eConsult and note it is marked as completed, you simply have to click the blue "Reviewed & Close" button and it will be moved into the "Completed" sub-folder.

For users accessing this area through the Ocean Portal

Please note that you will have to click the "Download" button again when the eConsult has moved into the "Needs Review" folder. This ensures that new content received from the referring provider has been captured before you mark it as "Reviewed".