• Clare Liddy, Jatinderpreet Singh, Rhea Mitchell, Sheena Guglani, and Erin Keely.
• From Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (CL, JS); C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (CL, SG, JS); Ontario eConsult Centre of Excellence, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (CL, RM, SG, and EK); Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (EK); Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (EK). cliddy@uottawa.ca.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2022 May 1; 35 (3): 601-604.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has made innovative solutions to providing safe, effective care paramount. eConsult allows primary care providers to access specialist advice for their patients without necessitating an in-person visit. This study aims to explain how an eConsult service adapted to providing care for COVID-19 patients and examine its impact on patient care.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of cases submitted to COVID-19 specialties through the Ontario eConsult service between October 2020 and April 2021. Utilization data were extracted from all eligible cases to assess number of cases submitted, patterns of use, response times, and case outcomes (ie, whether eConsult resulted in new or additional information, whether or not a referral was needed).Results2783 eConsults were submitted to 5 COVID-19 specialty groups during the study period. 71% of the cases were for vaccine-related questions. The median response interval was 12 hours. Providers received advice for a new or additional course of action in 36% of cases. 84% of the cases did not require a referral.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated the effectiveness of rapidly adapting eConsult for COVID-19 care and supports similar action for other services.© Copyright 2022 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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