Ava’s consult system streamlines communication between GPs and specialists.

A common problem we see in clinics is GPs and specialists constantly creating new consults to send between each other. With so many documents flying between them, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the communication.

There are two sides to consults, then request and the response. Splitting consults into these types keeps your documents organized and communication clear.

As a general rule of thumb, requests are sent out by GPs and responses sent by specialists, but there are cases where this can differ.

This tutorial will guide you through exactly when and how to use each type of consult.

Requests

Ava allows users (typically GPs) to send requests to other users (typically specialists) with patient information attached.

When staff receives a fax back from the specialist, such as a waiting list, they can classify it as a response during the claim and sort process.

Outgoing

There are a couple of different ways to send out requests.

There are a couple of different ways to assign documents as requests:

• You can write a letter directly in the workflow and fax it (most common when sending a request)
• You can import a written letter as a PDF (more common when receiving a request)

Follow the steps below for the most common way of creating requests, starting from a patient’s chart (method 1).

Click here to jump to instructions on how to start a request from an imported file task (method 2).

Starting from the patient’s chart

1. Open the patient’s chart and click the “+” icon beside the Consults section

2. Fill out the information as needed

The Copy To allows you to “cc” in another recipient into the request.

To send documents with the request, click Add beside Attachments. Here you can pick from the patients notes, letters, labs, and more. You can attach as many documents as you like.

You can also send other requests and consults as attachments as well.

To add any additional notes for the request, use the Instructions box .

3. Click Save to edit the request later

4. If you have entered a fax number, you can instantly send the request by clicking Save + Fax

5. If you did not fax right away, the request will now appear in the Task list under Consults

Under this task, you can see all responses (if any) from the consult and any follow up requests sent out. Edit them by clicking the pencil icons.

You can easily reorganize documents as requests or responses by using the four-way arrow.

You can also create new responses and requests under the task as well by clicking the “+” icons.

Completing the task will remove it from the Consults section of your tasks.

The request can easily be found again from the patient’s chart under the Consults section.

Incoming

When a consult request is received, it will appear as an imported file in the task box of the staff assigned to receive incoming faxes.

To read how to assign Task Groups to receive incoming faxes, click .

1. After assigning the file to the correct patient, sort it as an Incoming Consult Request.

2. Add a date received and fill out the other fields as needed.

3. Click Save Consult Request

The Imported File task will now become a Consult Request task.

From here you can decide to decline the request, request more information, or create a new response.

Selecting Request More Info allows you to send back a letter. This letter can later be found under the requests associated with the original document.

Click Response Letters to view previous responses (if any).

This document will now be found under the patient’s chart.

To complete the task, click on the status to reveal the Complete button.

Response

Responses are typically first sent out by specialists when they see a request in their task box.

Physicians can then reply to the specialist’s response with another request.

This results in all your communication about the patient with the specialist staying organized in one location.

Incoming

Follow the steps below to handle incoming responses.

1. Under the Tasks section, claim the imported file to the correct patient

The Ava AI feature will sometimes show a suggested patient. Simply click on the patients name to assign the document to them.

2. Sort the file under Consults

3. Attach the response to one of the consults listed or create a new consult with the New Consult button

4. Fill out the fields as desired and leave the drop down menu choice on Response. Then click on Attach

5. You can now save the task for later or select Mark Complete to instantly complete it

Set a due date on the task to receive a reminder to complete it on the selected day.

If the task is saved for later, it can be found again under the Consults section of the Tasks view.

To mark an incoming consult task as complete, click the task status and then Complete as shown earlier in this tutorial.

Outgoing

Outgoing responses can be created and sent from wherever you find the consult located in the EMR.

1. Click the “+” icon beside the responses section of a consult

2. Fill out the information as needed. This workflow is very similar to that when creating an outgoing request.

3. Save the letter for later or click Save + Fax to instantly send it

To click Save + Fax, you will need to save the response first.