Medical Home Network’s Successful eConsult Platform Integrates with Cerner’s Electronic Health Record (EHR)

  • Published On  Mar 4, 2020

Innovative technology-based solutions continue to improve healthcare in Cook County

Medical Home Network (MHN), a not-for-profit collaborative that is changing the way health care is delivered for safety net patients, announced its eConsult platform now integrates with Cerner’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) at Cook County Health (CCH). This integration comes via Single Sign-On (SSO), which enables CCH primary care providers (PCPs), specialists and clinical staff, to access the eConsult platform directly through their Cerner EHR accounts.

eConsult is a web-based platform that enables PCPs to consult with specialists regarding a patient’s specialty care needs. The platform, utilized by CCH, helps increase access to specialty care for providers working to deliver high-quality, coordinated care for underserved populations. To date, CCH and MHN have implemented the system across more than 50 CCH specialty clinics, CCH’s 14 internal ambulatory care clinics, Cermak Health Services at the Cook County Jail, and 20 external primary care clinics across Cook County.

“Visits to specialists become more efficient with eConsult as physicians can coordinate with primary care providers on patient evaluation needs prior to the patient’s visit to the specialist,” said Sana Syal, Program Manager at Medical Home Network. “We have seen a reduction in overall healthcare costs but more importantly improved care coordination and a better experience for the patient.”

Since going live in 2016, more than 26,000 eConsults have been submitted by PCPs working at the connected clinics. On average, specialists are responding to consults within one day of the submission. Furthermore, around 50 percent of eConsult requests were resolved without a specialty visit, meaning the specialist was able to provide the PCP with a virtual recommendation without needing to see the patient in clinic right away.

About Medical Home Network 

Medical Home Network is transforming health care delivery for Medicaid patients by fostering collaboration and innovation. Our proven model of care unites communities of providers and patients around a common goal: To redesign health care delivery and transform the way care is delivered and managed, resulting in improved patient care, lower costs and better health in the communities we serve. MHN can be found online at www.MedicalHomeNetwork.org and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/medical-home-network.