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.

Emergency Medicine workspace with Responses and Requests fields highlighted, and a label pointing to 'Task Status'

Creating a New Consult Request Response 2

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.

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.

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).

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

Creating a Consult Request from an Imported File

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

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

To send documents with the request, click 

 beside Attachments. Here you can pick from the patients notes, letters, labs, and more. You can attach as many documents as you like.

New Consult workspace overview with various labels pointing to important elements.

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

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

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

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

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 

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

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 

 After assigning the file to the correct patient, sort it as an 

Assign Document to Patient File workspace with 'Consult Request' highlighted in red.

Creating a New Consult Request Response 6

Assign Consult Request workspace with 'Incoming Consult Request' button highlighted in red

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

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.

Consult Request: Pending Review workspace overview with important elements highlighted in red.

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

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

To complete the task, click on the status to reveal the 

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.

Responses and Requests workspace with various dates and icons.

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Follow the steps below to handle incoming responses.

 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.

Assign Document to Patient File workspace with 'Consults' button highlighted in red.

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

Assign Imported File to Consult workspace with 'Attach to Consult' fields section highlighted in red.

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

Assign Imported File to Consult workspace with 'Direction' dropdown and 'Attach' button highlighted in red.

Creating a New Consult Request Response

5. You can now save the task for later or select 

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 

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

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

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

, you will need to save the response first.

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