University of Colorado School of Medicine and AristaMD Partner to Expand eConsults to Community Providers

By September 22, 2020 December 13th, 2020 News

AristaMD, an innovative telehealth platform that delivers primary care providers (PCPs) timely and documented specialist insight through eConsults, has partnered with the University of Colorado School of Medicine (CU) to expand eConsults to a network of community providers. The partnership begins with Salud Family Health Center, which has 13 clinic locations and serves communities in northeast and southeast Colorado.

“AristaMD is pleased to be working with our first partner that is a part of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Project CORE: Coordinating Optimal Referral Experiences. We can support health systems, including those already using eConsults within their own electronic health records (EHR), to more broadly expand to clinics on any system,” said Brooke LeVasseur, CEO of AristaMD. “The AristaMD platform works with all EHRs, seamlessly integrates into physician workflows, and will allow us to scale to community providers throughout the state of Colorado as the partnership grows.”

AristaMD will empower primary care providers with the ability to conduct eConsults with specialists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who will provide recommended treatment pathways for specific patient cases. Providers already using AristaMD’s telehealth platform report that eConsults significantly impact the care plan in over 90% of patient cases, expanding the scope of care for the primary care provider and allowing patients to receive timely, effective treatment.

“After conducting an extensive competitive evaluation, we selected AristaMD for their best-in-class technology, service and ability to launch the eConsult platform directly through the Epic EHR, creating a user-friendly experience for answering eConsults with minimal provider burden and workflow changes,” said Anne Fuhlbrigge, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Colorado.

According to data from primary care physicians who use the AristaMD platform, eConsults reduce the need for face-to-face specialist visits in over 70% of cases, improving access and reducing incurred costs related to travel and time away from work – all while preserving the quality of care. Patients can avoid the out-of-pocket expense of a specialty visit by relying on an eConsult, saving a significant amount, according to data from CU.

“Access to specialty care knowledge is a critical issue for our providers as well as our patients,” said Tillman Farley, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Salud Family Health Centers. “By partnering with CU and AristaMD, our providers will be able to consult specialists on patient questions that don’t require the patient to see a specialist in-person. This eConsult system allows specialists and primary care providers to work together to ensure the best care for patients. It allows us to improve access to care while decreasing costs. That improves patient outcomes and satisfaction with care for patients and providers.”