BACKGROUND
Consultation between General Practitioners (GPs) and hospital specialists can be challenging due to mutual unavailability and lack of interactive communication tools. By contrast, team-based case collaboration on a patient-centered network of healthcare professionals could facilitate communication and knowledge transfer. A digital interactive platform was developed to support this new way of collaboration.
OBJECTIVE
Purpose. To describe the development of the digital consultation platform (PRISMA) to connect general GPs with hospital specialists via the Siilo application and to evaluate the first year of use, including consultations, topic diversity, and number of participating physicians.
METHODS
Methods. We conducted a mixed-methods observational study, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for cases posted on the platform between June 2018 and May 2020. Any GP can post questions to an interdisciplinary group of secondary care specialists, with the platform designed to facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange for all users.
RESULTS
Results. In total, 3674 cases were posted by 424 GPs across 16 specialisms. Most questions and answers concerned diagnosis, non-medical treatment, and medication. Mean response time was 76 minutes (range, 44–252). An average of three users engaged with each case (up to seven specialists). Almost half of the internal medicine cases received responses from at least two specialisms in secondary care, contrasting with about one-fifth for dermatology. Of note, the growth in consultations was steepest for dermatology.
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions. Digital consultations offer the possibility for GPs to receive quick responses when seeking advice. The interdisciplinary approach of PRISMA creates opportunities for digital patient-centered networking.
CLINICALTRIAL
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