Safe sharing of ECGs and Echo Reports reduces unnecessary referrals

Take cardiology as an example; ECGs and Echo Reports are routinely performed to diagnose cardiac problems and clinicians often need to seek specialist advice to interpret them. Responding specialists tell us that there is no standard way to share an ECG trace, meaning that a patient might be referred straightaway or the GP may try to fax an ECG to their local hospital. Faxed ECGs are usually of a poor quality, leaving the specialist with no other choice than to recommend an outpatient appointment.