AristaMD this week announced its new unified care transition platform, which it says will enable primary care practices to provide patient-to-provider specialty matching, process electronic referrals and access peer consultations to minimize patient wait times for specialties. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The combined, analytics-based care transition platform supports primary care practices with end-to-end referrals and enhances the speed and delivery of patient care, according to Brooke LeVasseur, CEO of AristaMD.

"Ensuring patients get timely access to specialty care in the right setting is crucial for improving patient outcomes and controlling costs," LeVasseur said in the announcement.

Primary care physicians and clinicians can also request virtual guidance from specialists on specific patient cases to expedite treatment. That can reduce the number of doctors' visits for patients and remove travel and cost barriers associated with seeing a specialist.

The company says that more than 73% of eConsults result in the PCP being able to treat a patient immediately without a referral and that more than 30% of cases result in a new diagnosis. 

When a face-to-face referral is necessary, AristaMD’s referral management services match patients to the most appropriate specialists based on the patient’s insurance, location and the sub-specialty required, and can order referrals electronically.

"Seamless, online physician-to-specialist consultations and transparent, efficient referral routing support primary care providers in being effective quarterbacks of care for their patients," LeVasseur added.

THE LARGER TREND 

The platform launched specialist tele-consultations early on in the pandemic to prevent delays in care and limit the backlog of specialty care referrals.

Telehealth consultations can also help address the physician specialty shortage.

Dr. Chris Gallagher, CEO of Access TeleCare and a physician who works in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, told Healthcare IT News in July that even before the pandemic he saw telemedicine change patients' lives and make a real difference to hospitals' bottom lines.

"Successful specialty telemedicine also depends on an ongoing collegial, collaborative relationship between the virtual physicians and the on-site healthcare professionals, whether that's other physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists or pharmacists," he said.

ON THE RECORD

"Electronic referral management and eConsults within one platform improves the quality of referrals, enhances provider communication, reduces unnecessary spending and, most importantly, increases the likelihood that patients receive care under the guidance of a specialist," said Jon Gautsch, senior vice president of product and engineering of AristaMD. 

"The platform’s analytics allow care organizations and health plans to prioritize available, high-quality specialists, keep patients in-network and encourage an eConsult-first approach."

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

Tina Manoharan will offer more detail in the HIMSS23 session "AI and Data Interoperability: A Symbiotic Relationship for Healthcare." It is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18 at 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. CT at South Building, Level 4, room S401.