What is Total Triage?
A total triage model introduces eConsult as the main route for accessing help or an appointment. Practices review eConsults as they come in and respond to all eConsults within an agreed time scale (e.g. same day) or by the end of the next working day.
How does eConsult facilitate a Total Triage Model?
Capturing structured data from patients with 80+ condition specific templates allows for over 70% of eConsults to be dealt with remotely
Built-in safety netting allows eConsults to be sorted based on their clinical need, allowing for patients to be triaged by urgency, rather than first come first serve
Our Smart Inbox is purpose-built platform for managing online consultations and digital triage at scale
Our eConsult Lite feature allows you to capture digitally excluded/disadvantaged patients into the same triage queue
Our Urgent Acceptance feature allows you to choose whether to accept urgent eConsults into your triage queue, or direct patients most in need to call into the practice
The Benefits
Patients get a quick response when using digital, building trust in online consultation
Improved access for patients and zero pressure on the phones (our practices have seen an 85% reduction in call volumes between 8-9am)
Patients are seen based on clinical need
Better resource of practice staff and time
Reduce appointment wait time
Reduce DNAs
Total Triage Workflow
Total Triage Timeline
What is our Smart Inbox?
A purpose-built platform for digital triage & online consultation management
Reduces reliance on third party software and is built for quick triage decision making
Boosts productivity & foster better collaboration between healthcare & practice professionals
Facilitates a total triage model
Included free of charge in your standard eConsult licence
Preparing patients for change
4-Step Marketing Technique
Key Messages to Convey
Speaking to and promoting eConsult to patients at every opportunity is the most effective way to introduce a total triage model.
eConsult is a more convenient way to get help from your surgery: for your condition, symptoms or for administrative requests. Using eConsult allows them to explain why they want an appointment - they don’t have to explain everything within the first few minutes of an appointment
The practice can then decide how best to help you - you may not even need to come in to the surgery
After your eConsult, the practice will get back in touch and let you know what the next steps are
No more 8am rush: Guildhall's eConsult story
Kevin Root, Practice Manager at Guildhall Surgery in Folkestone, shared their transformative experience of using eConsult to go from surviving to thriving:
Call volumes between 8am and 9am have reduced by 85%
Significantly improved staff morale across the practice
Shift from harsh patient criticism to positive praise
“We no longer have the 8am rush, it just doesn’t exist.”
"Our call volumes have fallen dramatically. We’ve seen a reduction of more than 50% in overall call volumes, and calls between 8am and 9am have reduced by 85%.
Before the change, we would often have 130 calls recorded before 10am. Today (Monday 24th March 2025), we had only 21 calls over that period, and 50% of them were simply sent the link to do an eConsult!
As calls have reduced, some staff have been moved off the phones, but even so average wait times over the week are now 3-4 minutes. The extreme peaks of up to 20-minutes that we had before have disappeared completely." - Kevin Root, PM
Read the full case study here
eConsult Total Triage Checklist
Phase 1: Understand Your Current Workflow
Establish a baseline: Gather some key data to get a clear picture of your current workload.
Call Volume: Track the number of daily/weekly phone calls, calls dropped, and average and max call wait times.
Online Consultations: Log when you are restricting access, and the number of daily/weekly online consultations received.
Resource: Identify how much time is dedicated to answering the phones, telephone triage, and triage of online consultations.
Appointments: Record DNAs, avoidable appointments, and the waiting time for routine requests.
Team Meeting: Bring your team together and map out your current process to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
Phase 2: Set Your Goals and Strategy
Outline a New Process:
Create a Triage Team: Establish a dedicated team to manage all online consultations, ideally with their own space away from the reception desk.
Develop SOPs: Clearly define who is responsible for each step of the new process, from triage to booking and completion.
Ensure Equity of Access: Reception staff can use eConsult Lite so that phone and online requests are managed fairly through a single workflow.
Define Your Targets: Work with your team to set specific, measurable goals.
Call volumes: Through eConsult, practices have been able to achieve up to an 80% reduction in call volumes.
Remote Closures: Set a target for the percentage of online consultations that can be resolved without an appointment.
Phase 3: Prepare the Technology
eConsult Setup: Ensure your practice's eConsult system is ready to go.
Smart Inbox: Activate the Smart Inbox to streamline triage, messaging and saving to record.
Urgent Requests: Enable urgent eConsults during practice hours, to further reduce phone traffic.
Reporting: Sign up for enhanced reporting to gain deeper insight into demand and capacity.
Signposting: Add your local services to signpost patients to alternative help before contacting you.
Staff Training and Access:
Access: Confirm all relevant staff members have access to the eConsult toolbar and Smart Inbox.
Training: Schedule a training session with eConsult to ensure your team is confident using the system. See our triage tips below.
Customisation: Customise your teams list and tags within the Smart Inbox to match your practice's new workflow.
Phase 4: Communicate with Patients
Messaging: Develop clear, consistent messaging to promote the new system to patients. See below for suggested messaging.
Communicate the Benefits: To get patients on board, emphasise how online consultations help the practice AND patients.
Staff Script: Create a simple script for your team which encourages eConsult use when patients call or present in person.
Promote eConsult:
In-Practice: On posters and digital screens in the waiting room.
Digital Channels: Add a banner on your website's homepage, update your social media, and change your phone's holding message.
Patient Engagement: Discuss the changes at a PPG meeting and host a "digital drop-in" day where patients can get one-on-one support.
Phase 5: Go-Live and Ongoing Management
Set a Go-Live Date: Choose a date in advance of the October deadline so that you have time to adjust and address any issues.
On-the-Day Support: Ensure a dedicated "floor walker" is available on the day of go-live to provide support and troubleshoot in real time.
Review and Refine: Schedule a team meeting a week after go-live to discuss what's working well, identify bottlenecks, and make adjustments as needed.
Monitor Progress: Use your reporting dashboard to regularly monitor your progress and continuously optimise the new system.
Want to speak to a member of our team about transitioning to a total triage model? Get in touch via our live chat in the bottom right corner, or email us at practice.support@econsult.health 👋