To help address this issue, CFHI is inviting healthcare delivery organizations to participate in a 15-month quality improvement collaborative focused on implementing remote consult services like BASE.

In Ontario, as in other provinces, patients and their health care providers often struggle to get access to specialists. To improve doctors' access to specialists, a secure, online platform called Building Access to Specialist Care through eConsultation, or BASE was piloted in Ontario's Champlain Local Health Integration Network from 2010 to 2011. Find out more about innovations in reducing wait times on the Health Council of Canada portal - http://innovation.healthcouncilcanada.ca/

En Ontario, comme dans les autres provinces, les patients et leurs fournisseurs de soins de santé font souvent des pieds et des mains pour avoir accès aux spécialistes. Comme solution à ce problème, une plateforme en ligne sécurisée appelée Accroître l'accès aux spécialistes par la voie de la consultation électronique, ou projet Champlain BASE, a été mise à l'essai au Réseau local d'intégration des services de santé de Champlain, en Ontario, de 2010 à 2011.

eConsult allows physicians to consult with specialists across the province in order to provide their patients with the best care possible. We are implementing the Champlain BASE™ eConsult service in Ontario’s long-term care homes in order to improve integration of care, patient safety, and quality of life for complex aging residents. We will use an implementation approach well established through our successful eConsult service. Our approach includes maintaining a focus on the primary problem (poor access to specialists); building strong, meaningful partnerships with local clinical and community champions; using a simple, straightforward, low cost technology platform; providing opportunities for continuous feedback and improvement of the service based on participants’ needs; and integration of long-term care home needs into the planned expansion of eConsult at a provincial level. This webinar will discuss: 1. eConsult background and origins 2. The need for specialist access in long-term care 3. What we know about the benefits of eConsult 4. The current project 5. How to become involved in the program 6. Q&A and next steps PRESENTER: Dr. Clare Liddy, M.Sc., M.D. Clinical Scientist and Physician, Bruyère Research Institute Dr. Clare Liddy is a Clinical Investigator at the C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre of the Bruyère Research Institute. Dr. Liddy is also an Associate Professor in the University of Ottawa’s Department of Family Medicine with a cross-appointment to the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine. She continues to practice family medicine within the Ottawa Hospital Academic Family Health Team.