LA County Department of Health Services Expands Reach to Underserved Population

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is expanding the use eConsult (supplied by Safety Net Connect, Newport Beach, Calif.), to primary care providers and specialists throughout the county. The eConsult platform is a Web-based solution that allows electronic consultations between PCPs and specialists, aimed at allowing better care for underserved and vulnerable patients. The system enables providers to discuss relevant details of patients’ medical history prior to scheduling appointments. To date, DHS has used the solution to respond to 43,000 requests for specialty assistance from 1,300 PCPs from across the county, and reduced consultation wait times from certain specialties from more than 300 days to less than a week for certain specialties, according to a statement by DHS and the vendor.