Usefulness of an Electronic Consultation System Between Primary Care Health Centres and the Rheumatology Department of a Tertiary Hospital

BackgroundThe EPISER study is the first Spanish epidemiological study that has confirmed the great burden of rheumatic diseases in the general population: they consume a large quantity of health resources (doctor visits, medical products) and imply a high social impact in terms of work absenteeism. Rheumatic diseases represent almost 30% of Primary Care medical consultations in Spain1,2. Electronic consultation could be an alternative response to the increase of this demand, both to make an early diagnosis and derivation and to improve communication with Primary Care physicians3,4.ObjectivesTo analyze the demand of Primary Care and its resolution through the electronic consultation system of the Rheumatology Department of a tertiary hospital.MethodsRetrospective descriptive study of the data collected in the request and information system (Sistema de Peticiones Electrónicas, SIPE) that supports electronic consultation between primary care physicians of the health area and the Rheumatology Department of a tertiary hospital, between July 2020 and May 2021.The following variables were collected: age, sex, reason for consultation, response time in days and destination (primary care/outpatient follow-up). Descriptive statistics were used to present the results.ResultsThe last 500 consecutive electronic consultations registered in the system, referring to 496 patients, were collected. Mean age was 59.5±17.7 years; 74.2% women. Mean response time was 2 days, median response time 1 day and range 0-45. The reasons for consultation (see Graph 1) were: osteoporosis assessment 55 (11%), treatment adjustment 50 (10%), appointment request 49 (9.8%), loss to follow-up 43 (8.6%), local-regional pathology assessment 39 (7.8%), infiltration request 28 (5, 6%), suspected rheumatoid arthritis 19 (3.8%), flare 18 (3.6%), suspected polymyalgia rheumatica or giant cell arteritis 16 (3.2%), COVID vaccine consultation 14 (2.8%), Raynaud’s phenomenon 13 (2.6%), monoarthritis assessment 12 (2.4%), assessment of polyarthritis 11 (2.2%), adverse effects of treatment 11 (2.2%), suspected spondyloarthritis 11 (2.2%), suspected psoriatic arthritis 8 (1, 6%), generalized pain 7 (1.4%), suspected Sjögren’s syndrome 5 (1%), suspected systemic lupus erythematosus 1 (0.2%), suspected other systemic autoimmune diseases 9 (1.8%), others 81 (16.2%). Fifty-seven and four % (287) of the patients required an appointment at the Rheumatology outpatient clinic and in 42.6% of the patients (213) the electronic consultation was successful, so it was not necessary to refer the patient to the hospital.ConclusionForty-two and six percent of the queries were resolved thanks to the electronic consultation system in an average of two days, otherwise that patients would have been referred to specialized care. The main reasons for consultation were osteoporosis assessment and clarification of doubts about the treatment of patients who were already being followed up by the Rheumatology Department.References[1]Carmona L, Ballina J, Gabriel R, Laffon A. The burden of musculoskeletal diseases in the general population of Spain: results from a national survey. Ann Rheum Dis 2001 -11;60(11):1040-1045.[2]Seoane-Mato D, Martínez Dubois C, Moreno Martínez MJ, Sánchez-Piedra C, Bustabad-Reyes S. Frequency of medical visits due to osteoarticular problems of the adult general population in Spain. EPISER2016 Study. Gac Sanit 2020 Sep - Oct;34(5):514-517.[3]Tejera Segura B, Bustabad S. A New Form of Communication Between Rheumatology and Primary Care: The Virtual Consultation. Reumatol Clin 2016 /01/01;12(1):11-14.[4]Pego-Reigosa JM, Peña-Gil C, Rodríguez-Lorenzo D, Altabás-González I, Pérez-Gómez N, Guzmán-Castro JH, et al. Analysis of the implementation of an innovative IT solution to improve waiting times, communication with primary care and efficiency in Rheumatology. BMC Health Serv Res 2022 -01-12;22(1):60.Disclosure of InterestsNone declared