Virtual Hallway speeds up referral process and shortens patient wait times

HALIFAX -- A Nova Scotia-based psychiatrist for more than three decades, Dr. Luke Napier, and two of his colleagues, spent years searching for ways to speed up the medical referral process.

“We put our heads together to come up with a way to more efficiently support primary care providers who are supporting patients,” said Napier.

They created Virtual Hallway, which is designed shorten to the waitlist for patients to see a specialist.

Family doctors and nurse practitioners now have on-call access to medical specialists by using the secure and private links on their website.

“The primary care provider can go online and select the particular person they would like to receive the call from,” said Napier. “They put in a question and then they receive a call at a defined time.”

According to Napier, it has helped shorten referral times from 6 to 12 months, down to weeks, days and sometimes hours.

“This started as just a cog in the mental health system and psychiatry, but now it’s really every part of medicine,” said Napier.

When Virtual Hallway was first launched online in Nova Scotia five years ago, it only served psychiatry, but it now covers 50 medical specialty areas in six provinces.

“The issue is that up until now, there have not been that many services to fill this in-between area when you have a question that you need answered so the patient can get treatment for the condition,” said Dr. Victoria Sparrow-Downes, a remote family doctor in Saskatchewan.

“I think one positive aspect that I’ve seen is that it really helps to increase the confidence of the providers, in terms of managing whatever comes through the door and coming up with management plan.”

Halifax area mother Leslie Flemming was bracing for a delayed referral for her daughter to receive a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Flemming’s family doctor used Virtual Hallway, and the process moved quickly.

“I was expecting we would hear back maybe in a few weeks or a few months, but it was probably within 48 hours,” said Flemming. “I couldn’t believe how fast we were able to get the answer that we needed, and that’s really such a relief as a parent because when you are left waiting, you feel sick because you want to help your child as much as you can.”

Napier hopes Virtual Hallway will be soon available in all Canadian provinces and territories. He sees it as a rapid way for doctors to connect, optimize and improve patient care.