The Province is making it easier for physicians to book surgical consults and patients to get information with a new healthcare tool to manage surgical referrals.
A new electronic surgical consult referral system, Ocean eReferrals, will provide better information to patients on the status of their referral and will, over time, lead to shorter wait times. It will make sending and receiving surgical referrals easier and faster for primary care providers and surgeons.
“Waiting for care is hard for patients and their families. It’s also frustrating for healthcare professionals when they don’t have the information to answer their patients’ questions,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “Nova Scotians deserve short wait times that will keep them out of pain and allow them to move on with their lives.”
With the new system, primary care providers will send their requests for surgical consultations through e-referral instead of faxing, emailing or mailing requests directly to a surgeon. It will allow for better tracking, review and management of referrals and, in time, will include consult wait time information to allow for faster consults.
Patients who provide an email address and referring providers will receive automatic notifications when their referral is received, forwarded to a surgeon, and when a consult is booked or changed.
The service goes live for primary care providers and surgeons at Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health on Friday, March 31.