Usefulness of an electronic consultation system between primary care health centres and the rheumatology department of a tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background and objective

Rheumatic diseases account for almost 30% of consultations attended in Spanish primary care centres. The main objective was to analyse the demand for rheumatology consultations from Primary Care and their resolution using the electronic consultation system.

Patients and methods

Retrospective descriptive study of electronic consultations from primary care centres in the health area to the Rheumatology service of a tertiary hospital, between July 2020 and May 2021.

Results

The last 500 consecutive consultations were collected. Mean age of patients was 59.5 years; 74.2% were women. Main reasons for consultation were osteoporosis and treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis under follow-up by the department. Mean response time was 2 days. Fifty-seven per cent of patients required outpatient appointments.

Discussion

Over 40% of queries were resolved thanks to the electronic consultation system in an average of 2 days, otherwise patients would have been referred to specialized care.