Initial Results of a Cardiac E-Consult Pilot Program

Building on prior efforts to restructure the services that are now delivered almost exclusively in face-to-face visits and via informal curbside consults (4), and in response to new accountable care organization risk contracts, we created a cardiology electronic consult (e-consult) pilot at the Massachusetts General Hospital, with the goal of both improving care and reducing unnecessary visits. In our e-consult pilot, cardiologists reviewed the electronic data and images in the shared electronic medical record (EMR) and then provided detailed clinical recommendations in the EMR without a cardiology office visit.