Introduction
The pan-Canadian eReferral / eConsult (CA:eReC) Interoperability Specification is an implementable and testable specification. It defines building blocks to create electronic referrals and electronic consults that will support communication between healthcare practitioners and service providers performing electronic patient referrals and / or electronic consultations. CA:eReC building blocks are configurable to address necessary Canadian jurisdictions variances.
An eReferral is an electronic request for a patient to receive care from a specialist or other services (e.g., home or community care, diagnostic exam). It aims to streamline and improve the referral process compared to traditional paper-based methods. Overall, eReferrals aim to enhance the quality of patient care, reduce delays in treatment, and improve the overall efficiency of the healthcare system.
An eConsult is an electronic request from a physician to receive advice from a specialist (i.e., provider-to-provider consultation)?, enabling asynchronous communication between the requesting physician and specialist.
The CA:eReC specifications, written in line with international best practices, contain the information necessary for an implementer to consume and develop the components necessary for creating, and consuming an electronic referral or consult.
The implementation approach of the pan-Canadian eReferral / eConsult will span a number of releases on a roadmap. Release 1 will focus on elevating the current eReferral specification developed by vendors for Ontario, and focuses on three use cases that have been identified as priority for Canadian jurisdictions, and their supporting requirements, reference architecture, terminology and FHIR profiles. This release will include supports for creating and submitting an eReferral, an eConsult, as well as interacting with a Central Intake.
Future releases may incorporate additional use cases and their supporting requirements, reference architecture, terminology and FHIR profiles. For example, the implementation roadmap will include interactions with a Service Directory.