What do primary care providers want to know when caring for patients living with frailty? An analysis of eConsult communications between primary care providers and specialists

Background: Frailty is a complex condition that primary care providers (PCPs) are managing in increasing numbers, yet there is no clear guidance or training for frailty care.

Objectives: The present study examined eConsult questions PCPs asked specialists about patients with frailty, the specialists' responses, and the impact of eConsult on the care of these patients.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: ChamplainBASE™ eConsult located in Eastern Ontario, Canada.

Participants: Sixty one eConsult cases closed by PCPs in 2019 that use the terms "frail" or "frailty" to describe patients 65 years of age or older.

Measurements: The Taxonomy of Generic Clinical Questions (TGCQ) was used to classify PCP questions and the International Classification for Primary Care 3 (ICPC-3) was used to classify the clinical content of each eConsult. The impact of eConsult on patient care was measured by PCP responses to a mandatory survey.

Results: PCPs most frequently directed their questions to cardiology (n = 7; 11%), gastroenterology (n = 7; 11%), and endocrinology (n = 6; 10%). Specialist answers most often pertained to medications (n = 63, 46%), recommendations for clinical investigation (n = 24, 17%), and diagnoses (n = 22, 16%). Specialist responses resulted in PCPs avoiding referral in 57% (n = 35) of cases whereas referrals were still required in 15% (n = 9) of cases. Specialists responded to eConsults in a median 1.11 days (IQR = 0.3-4.7), and 95% (n = 58) of cases received a response within 7 days. Specialists recorded a median of 15 min to respond (IQR = 10-20), with a median cost of $50.00 CAD (IQR = 33.33 - 66.66) per eConsult.

Conclusions: Through the analysis of questions and responses submitted to eConsult, this study provides novel information on PCP knowledge gaps and approaches to care for patients living with frailty. Furthermore, these analyses provide evidence that eConsult is a feasible and valuable tool for improving care for patients with frailty in primary care settings.