eConsults at Akron Children's

Benefits to Referring Providers:

eConsults may enable referring providers to:

• Get answers to specific clinical questions.
• Obtain the appropriate labs or imaging, improving the in-person experience.
• Co-manage patient cases.
• Expedite the in-person evaluation, if needed.

Benefits to Patients

• Improves access to specialty services and streamlines communication.
• May eliminate an in-person visit.

Helpful tips for eConsults

Suggested talking points to use when discussing eConsults with a patient:

• "I'd like to talk to an Akron Children’s specialist for advice on what you are experiencing. This is called an eConsult."
• "An eConsult eases the inconvenience of having to see a specialist in person and provides timely answers."
• "An eConsult would be billed to insurance and, as a patient, you may be responsible for any non-covered charges."

Contact the Help Line at:

330-543-6248
emrsupportteam@akronchildrens.org

To perform an eConsult, please refer to the Epic Training guide ECL eConsult Workflow.

Q: What is an eConsult?
A: An eConsult is an interprofessional telephone, internet or electronic health record (EHR) consultation between two providers for a new or established patient, initiated in Epic or EpicCare Link.

Q: Who can request an eConsult, and who can complete an eConsult?
A: Any licensed advanced practice provider or physician may request an eConsult.

Q: When should an eConsult be placed?
A: Anytime the patient would benefit from the input of a specialist regarding co-management or diagnosis.

Q: What types of questions are not appropriate to send via eConsult?
A. eConsults should not be used for urgent or emergent questions. eConsults should not be used to circumvent established scheduling practices or to secure an earlier appointment for a patient if not clinically warranted.

Q: Who is responsible for obtaining the family’s verbal consent for the eConsult service and how is it documented?
A: The requesting provider should obtain verbal consent from the family. The current charge is $72, and the family may be responsible for charges not covered by insurance. Consent is to be documented in Epic or EpicCare Link.

Q: How long do specialists have to complete the eConsult?
A: Three business days.

Q: If a patient has an eConsult and ends up being seen in-person within 14 days, does the consultant provider still receive their wRVUs for performing the eConsult?
A: No. An eConsult cannot be billed if the patient had an encounter with that specialty 14 days before or 14 days after the eConsult.

Akron Children’s eConsults are available for the following specialties:

• Addiction Services
• Adolescent Medicine
• Allergy and Immunology
• Behavioral Health (Psychiatry and Psychology)
• Dermatology
• Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
• Ear, Nose and Throat
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Genetics
• Healthy Active Living (Weight Management)
• Heart Center (Arrhythmia, Adult Congenital Heart Services, Fetal Cardiology, Single Ventricle Program, Syncope Clinic)
• Hematology/Oncology
• Infectious Disease
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Pediatric Surgery
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports Medicine