Case Study: Exploring the Impacts of a Single-Entry Model within the Central East Region for DI

Prior to the implementation of the SEM, sending clinicians were sending the same referral to multiple sites in the hopes that their patients would receive care quicker. With the SEM, sending providers now need to only send one referral and can specify which location(s) the patient would like to travel to. Based on this, the routing algorithm will then route the referral to the site with the shortest wait time, any sites not selected by the sender will not be considered.

The site reports that since the implementation of the SEM, there has been a 24% reduction in referral cancellations due to duplicate referrals received by the participating diagnostic imaging sites.

For the hospitals, the value of mapping eReferrals to Epic means that information is in the correct fields in Epic and that an order is generated.  This saves significant time and reduces errors that result from manual transcription of faxed or imaged referral forms.

Lorel Morrison

Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Pharmacy, Laboratory Services, Quality and Patient Partnerships

An additional benefit has been the reduction of manual work required to triage a patient. Because of the reduction of manual work required, another significant benefit realised by the hospitals has been a reduction in errors due to manual processes and time savings from automatic patient routing. As well, it enhances privacy measures by eliminating a manual entry effort, and thus there are fewer views on health information. The SEM has also reduced the manual effort needed on the part of the sending clinician; previously before the implementation of the SEM, each diagnostic site had their own unique referral forms.

Through the SEM, there is only one referral form that will need to be completed. ​ Since the full implementation of the CEHC Regional DI SEM project, the East eReferral DT has continuously supported both senders and receivers involved in the SEM. Throughout the project, the East eReferral DT has collected valuable feedback regarding the SEM from both senders and the receiving sites. The team has since prioritized implementing the feedback and adjusted the SEM referral form and the Central Intake listing in the eReferral solution to make the sending process more efficient. Due to the East eReferral DT’s collection and implementation of clinician feedback, clinicians have reported that this act has boosted morale amongst community primary care clinicians. Due to the team’s continuous work, the SEM has processed over 16,000 referrals in the past 12 months.