This guide gives you an overview of the ConsultLoop platform. If you have any questions or suggestions, send us a message using the pink chat icon on the bottom right and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible!
1. Click the New Referral button on the top right of the Dashboard.
2. If the referral letter hasn’t already been e-faxed to ConsultLoop by the referring provider, fax the referral letter and any additional documents to 647-689-3089.
3. Enter the patient’s OHIP number (or health card number from another province). If the patient has previously been registered with ConsultLoop, their name and email address and/or cell phone number will appear. Otherwise, enter the patient’s name (required) and email address and/or cell phone number (optional, but recommended).
The ConsultLoop Directory shows the specialist name, clinic name,clinic location, wait time and information on the types of referrals a specialist accepts.
To explore the ConsultLoop Directory, use the Search Bar on the left to:
Profile views can be expanded to show the specialist clinic’s exact address, a map view and website link for the specialist if applicable. A link will be posted if a referral form is required (ex: MRI).
Learn more about the referral states here.
Referral letter and documents are outstanding and need to be sent in to ConsultLoop at 647-649-3089. In some instances, it may take two working hours for the faxed document to be associated with the referral.
The referral request and relevant documents have been delivered to the specialist.
The referral has been assigned an appointment time by the specialist but this time has not been confirmed with the patient. The patient must be notified. If there is an email address on file, the patient has been sent an email asking them to confirm the appointment details, and it is reasonable to give 48 hours for them to reply before calling.
The referral has been assigned an appointment time and it has been confirmed either by the patient, or the administrative staff at either the sending or receiving clinic.
The appointment has been declined and a reason for this has been provided by the specialist.
Referrals can be archived at any point, which moves them from the Inbox or Outbox to the Archive tab. You may also unarchive referrals. Archiving does no affect the other clinics involved or the patient – a referral is archived just for your clinic.
From the dashboard you can look at the details of a referral by clicking the View button on the right.
Here you can view three different tabs: Details, Documents and Audit Log.
Details:
Shows the patient, specialist physician/clinic, and other referral information on the left-hand side.
The right side shows events associated with the referral.
From this screen, an appointment can be accepted (and a time entered along with patient instructions) or declined (with a reason given). Read more about referral actions that can be done from this screen.
If an appointment has already been accepted, you can also mark the appointment as confirmed if the patient has been notified of the appointment time.
Documents:
Shows the referral letter and other documents. You may print the letter, or save it to your computer to import it into your EMR.
Audit Log:
Shows a log of every time someone looked at the referral or its documents. It helps to support greater transparency in the referral process.
Referral actions are different based on who is doing them – the referring or receiving clinic – and whether or not the receiving clinic is using ConsultLoop. These will be indicated with a [CL] after the doctor’s name. We will call them CL specialists in contrast to non-CL specialists.
You may accept a referral, enter a time and for the appointment and provide instructions for the patient that will be sent along with the email notification to them. CL specialists will do this, but if the referral is sent to a non-CL specialist, they will reply in their usual fashion and the clinic that sent the referral will act on their behalf.
Similar to accepting a referral, this is done by CL specialists or by the referring clinic if it is sent to a non-CL specialist. A reason should be entered for declining the referral.
Similar to accepting a referral, this is done by CL specialists or by the referring clinic if it is sent to a non-CL specialist. A reason should be entered for declining the referral.
If a referral has been declined, you will see a “Redirect” button. This allows you to choose a new specialist for this patient, creating a new referral with the existing referral documents and patient information. The declined referral is then automatically archived.
Once an appointment time is entered on ConsultLoop, it is marked as accepted – unconfirmed. The patient will receive an email if one has been registered on the system, and when viewing their referral information they will be asked to confirm it. If anyone has discussed the appointment with the patient directly, they should mark it as confirmed and may enter a note to document how this was done.
This action may only be done by the referring clinic when a referral has been made to a CL specialist and the referral is in the requested state. Once it has been accepted, it can no longer be withdrawn as the referring clinic must discuss it directly with the specialist’s clinic.
This action may only be done by the receiving clinic for accepted appointments. The referring clinic will be notified in ConsultLoop. The patient will not be notified by ConsultLoop as it is imperative that the appointment is only cancelled after discussing this with the patient directly.
This action may only be done by the receiving clinic for accepted appointments. The referring clinic will be notified in ConsultLoop. The patient will be notified if an email is on file and will be asked for confirm. We recommend discussing this with the patient directly prior to rescheduling in ConsultLoop.
At any point in time a comment may be written about a referral. This comment will be seen by users at both the referring and receving clinic but is not meant to be used to communicate between clinics. The patient cannot see comments but of course they must remain professional as if the patient could see them. Commenting may be helpful to mark down that a voicemail was left with a patient, for example.
If a patient’s email is registered in ConsultLoop, the platform will automatically send emails to notify them of changes to the status of their referral. At any point they can open a link in the email, enter their OHIP number and view further details about their appointment. The notification emails are sent when:
This is what the patient email looks like (note there is no personal health information):
This is how the patient logs in to view their appointment information:
This is what the patient sees, including the appointment information (the contact info and address for the specialist is cut off), instructions, and a button for them to confirm receiving this information:
Delete/forwarding
You must notify the ConsultLoop support staff of any changes you would like updated in the system. We will correct it for you. Note that instructions cannot be modified.
Instructions can only be added when the referral is accepted and the appointment time is updated on the system. Futrher information would have to be relayed to the patient by other means (ex: phone).
Notify our support staff if a name must be edited, or a health card number modified.
When viewing a referral, there is a button on the top right corner that says save/print. Clicking this button will generate a one page pdf summarizing the referral information and a timeline of important events. You can then save it or print it as per your preference.
When viewing referral documents, Google Chrome will show icons to save and print the documents when your mouse cursor is over the pdf. Use these icons to manage the referral documents.