ABSTRACT
Background: Delayed referrals to specialists often result in increased morbidity and mortality.
Local problem: A time delay in specialist care access of over 1 month identified a gap in efficient care provision in a rural south central United States outreach clinic within a multispecialty group affiliated with a hospital system.
Methods: A pilot project with a mixed-methods design that compared the established referral process with direct primary provider referral to a specialist's electronic medical record (EMR) schedule. Authors conducted the study over 16 weeks using a convenience sample size of 74 patients.
Interventions: Direct primary care nurse practitioner provider to specialist EMR schedule referral based on specialty referral needs.
Results: All electronically referred patients were seen by specialists in less than 1 month.
Conclusions: All electronic specialist referrals were completed more expediently than those referred by the standard process and patients reported an efficient and satisfactory process.