“Getting direct advice from a consultant can avoid admission to acute services or lead to a more specific clinic referral. I can also give improved care to my patients whilst they wait for outpatient appointments.”
Dr Elizabeth Peak is a GP at Logan Practice surgery in NHS Lanarkshire. She explains how using Consultant Connect for prof to prof clinical decisions helps her in her day-to-day job:
“Getting direct advice from a consultant can avoid admission to acute services or lead to a more specific clinic referral. I can also give improved care to my patients whilst they wait for outpatient appointments.”
Dr Peak finds Consultant Connect to be a better tool given that GPs can “speak directly to the consultant” and therefore “ do not have to wait for the switchboard to locate them.”
Dr Peak has provided the following example of how prof to prof clinical decisions has helped a patient:
A female patient received results showing anaemia. She had also been experiencing Menorrhagia. Dr Peak used Consultant Connect’s prof to prof clinical decisions to speak to a Gynaecology consultant to receive further specialist advice, Dr Peak details:
“Given the degree of anaemia, I wondered if she might need admission for a transfusion. Using Consultant Connect I rang for advice, and she was able to advise that iron tablets should be sufficient even with a haemoglobin of 7, as it would likely increase the level by 1g per week, and the patient was relatively asymptomatic and not keen for admission. We also discussed the treatment the patient had tried for Menorrhagia previously and we developed an alternative management plan.”
The consultant arranged for the patient to be seen in her clinic.
How the service benefitted the patient and the GP:
Through the use of prof to prof clinical decisions, the patient received direct specialist advice which allowed her to avoid an admission and a visit to the day bed unit for a transfusion. The patient was “delighted” with the specialist input and the fact she was able to receive advice for her condition directly through her GP. Dr Peak received rapid advice from secondary care, resulting in fast and appropriate guidance.
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