Our early collaborations with the Champlain LHIN, Winchester District Memorial Hospital, the Bruyère Research Institute, and The Ottawa Hospital were important from an infrastructure, service and evaluation perspective. We have succeeded as a team in ensuring sustained funding to offer the service not only to our local providers but also to a growing number of providers outside of our region, including northern communities. The Champlain LHIN provides ongoing funding for specialist remuneration and infrastructure support, and various government branches and federal funding agencies offer research funding through competitive grants.
Since 2011, we have been actively engaged in provincial-level discussions on expanding the eConsult service to reach all Ontarians. In addition to multiple meetings, we have shared detailed evaluation summaries addressing issues related to payment models for specialists, PCPs’ perspectives and the impact of eConsult on quality of care and health system costs.