Electronic consultation

Electronic consultation is an aspect of telemedicine which involves remote communication between patients and clinicians, or between clinicians and specialists.

E-consult was one of the earlier applications which primary care physicians could use to consult specialists. Dermatology lent itself to this approach as pictures could be sent for examination in a specialist centre in a process analogous to the well-established treatment of pathological specimens. The widespread use of electronic health records is reducing the need for specialist applications of this kind. There is developing interest in the application of such techniques in mental health. See remote therapy.