SynthesisJournal of telemedicine and telecare2015
Electronic consultations (e-consults) to improve access to specialty care: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Synthesis in Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 197 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
197 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 430 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Patient Experiences of Oesophageal Cancer Survivorship After Oesophagectomy.Psycho-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Electronic consultations (E-consults) and their outcomes: a systematic review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2020Pooled it
- Barriers and Facilitators That Influence Telemedicine-Based, Real-Time, Online Consultation at Patients' Homes: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Ambulatory Telemedicine Care in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2019Pooled it
- Methods to Evaluate the Effects of Internet-Based Digital Health Interventions for Citizens: Systematic Review of Reviews.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- HbA1c-Triggered Endocrinology Electronic Consultation for Type 2 Diabetes Management.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Trial
- Impact of an Opt-In eConsult Program on Primary Care Demand for Specialty Visits: Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Implementation Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Asynchronous Telepsychiatry: A Component of Stepped Integrated Care.Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association · 2018Trial
- Neurosurgery-Led Digital Emergency Referral System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Implementation Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Hepatology e-consult responses generated by artificial intelligence demonstrate accuracy but require human oversight.Hepatology communications · 2026Article
- Referral patterns and requested interventions in a cancer pain e-consult system.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Glycemic Outcomes of Endocrinology Consultation for Type 2 Diabetes by Visit Modality: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Diabetes care · 2026Article
- "I Am Reluctant to Continue, Yet Know She Could Go into Withdrawal": A Qualitative Analysis of Clinician Requests for eConsults in Opioid Management in the Ambulatory Setting.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Reducing wait times for hospital-based outpatient mental healthcare: what works?BMJ open quality · 2026Article
- Early health technology assessment of a primary care tool for the diagnosis and management of headaches in Alberta, Canada.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2026Article
- Differences in Electronic Consultation Conversion Rates Between Advanced Practice Providers and Board-Certified Dermatologists.JMIR dermatology · 2026Article
- From Pilot to Practice: A Large-Scale Evaluation of Gastroenterology E-Consultations at an Academic Medical Center.Gastro hep advances · 2026Article
- Low-value medical orders: bridging the gap between concept and action in reducing healthcare waste.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Asking the Right Questions: Benchmarking Large Language Models in the Development of Clinical Consultation Templates.Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing · 2026Article
137 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWe define electronic consultations ("e-consults") as asynchronous, consultative, provider-to-provider communications within a shared electronic health record (EHR) or web-based platform. E-consults are intended to improve access to specialty expertise for patients and providers without the need for a face-to-face visit. Our goal was to systematically review and summarize the literature describing the use and effects of e-consults.
methodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and CINAHL for studies related to e-consults published between 1990 through December 2014. Three reviewers identified empirical studies and system descriptions, including articles on systems that used a shared EHR or web-based platform, connected providers in the same health system, were used for two-way provider communication, and were text-based.
resultsOur final review included 27 articles. Twenty-two were research studies and five were system descriptions. Eighteen originated from one of three sites with well-developed e-consult programs. Most studies reported on workflow impact, timeliness of specialty input, and/or provider perceptions of e-consults. E-consultations are used in a variety of ways within and across medical centers. They provide timely access to specialty care and are well-received by primary care providers. DISCUSSION: E-consults are feasible in a variety of settings, flexible in their application, and facilitate timely specialty advice. More extensive and rigorous studies are needed to inform the e-consult process and describe its effect on access to specialty visits, cost and clinical outcomes.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.