Last updated 02/11/2023
This article covers:
Accessing the Smart Inbox
Via eConsult Toolbar
To use the Smart Inbox with interop to EMIS or SystmOne, you will need to have the eConsult toolbar downloaded and installed on your computer. For more information please select the appropriate link:
Benefits of the eConsult Toolbar:
Integrates the Smart Inbox with the clinical system, saving responses and eConsults directly into the patient record (currently EMIS Web and SystmOne)
Call patients from your computer or own device with click to call
Start a video consultation with your patient and any relevant third parties
Switch between video and telephone consultations easily
💡Top Tips:
Contact your Practice IT provider and/or our Operations Team (practice.support@econsult.health), if you require support downloading the toolbar
Log in to the Clinical System first, then the Toolbar
Use two screens: Smart Inbox on one screen, Clinical System on the second screen
Via Web Browser
Access the Smart Inbox via this URL - https://inbox.econsult.health/workflow/login
💡Top tips:
Recommended if not saving to the patient record from Smart Inbox into the Clinical System
Bookmark the URL across all users’ computers for quick access
Recommended web browsers: Chrome and Edge; unsupported web browser: Internet Explorer
Log in either using your NHS email that ends with @nhs.net and NHS Single Sign On (SSO) or you can also login via another non NHS.net email
Log into the Smart Inbox using your NHS login credentials:
Login with another email:
If you don't have access to NHS mail you will need to use the Login with another email option. If this is the first time using the Smart Inbox you will need to select the Forgot password?
Enter your email address then Continue
You will then receive an email from auth@econsult.health (please check the junk/spam box) to create a password. The password must be at least 8 characters long and continue a lowercase and uppercase letter and a number.
Once logged in, you will see the below page
Smart Inbox Folders
In the navigation bar on the left-hand side there are 12 permanent folders, these include All Open, Complete, and under Clinical and Admin - Waiting, Snoozed, Awaiting Response, New Response and Triaged. To see the eConsults in any of these folders or subfolders, just click on them from the navigation bar.
The top two folders are All Open and Complete. All Open lists all the admin and clinical eConsult submissions that have not been completed. The ‘Complete’ folder shows you all of your completed eConsults, regardless of their type.
There are two other main folders that will help to manage the workload within your practice teams. These are the ‘Admin’ and ‘Clinical’ folders. The ‘Clinical’ folder contains eConsults submitted using the clinical templates and the ‘Admin’ folder contains eConsults submitted using the admin templates.
Each of these folders contains subfolders split by the status of the eConsults within them. If you want, you can collapse these subfolders.
When you are navigating through the Inbox without a selected eConsult, you will see that the consultation panel shows 'No message selected'. This screen updates to show you which folder you are in and how many eConsults are in that folder. As soon as you select an eConsult summary card, the full eConsult is visible.
Actioning eConsults
Navigate to the ‘Waiting’ sub-folder either under Clinical or Admin
Click on the eConsult/eConsult Lite to open in the consultation panel
Sort and filter the inbox according to your SOPs
Match the patient using the steps as shown under Patient Matching
Read the eConsult/eConsult Lite, paying close attention to any Flagged questions/answers and any images that may be attached
Respond to the patient via email or SMS, (see Sending Messages section for more information)
Signpost accordingly based on your triaging decision
Add comments as required that your colleagues may find useful under the signposting
Add tags to the eConsult/eConsult Lite (see Tagging section for more information) depending on on your workflow
Save the PDF to the patient record, once all the actions are completed in the Smart Inbox
Mark the eConsult/eConsult Lite as Complete
💡Top Tip:
If you are setting the eConsult as triaged, then do not export the PDF at this stage. You should only save to record/export PDF, if you are completing the eConsult. Do not save the PDF before this point to avoid any duplication.
Sort Inbox
Both the Clinical and Admin inboxes and folders within the inboxes within those inboxes can be sorted. To sort the inbox:
Click on the icon
Select how you’d like to sort the inbox:
Time received - Oldest > Newest or Newest > Oldest
Age (of the patient) - Youngest > Oldest or Oldest > Youngest
Flags - Most > Least or Least > Most
Click on Apply
💡Top Tips:
The sort options will remain on the inboxes until its removed by clicking the X.
Filter Inbox
The inboxes can be filtered by:
Team
Urgency
Date range (eConsult submitted on date)
Date (specific eConsult submitted on date)
Condition: condition/template that the patient selected before completing the eConsult
Mode
To filter the inbox:
Click on icon
Select the entity/entities you want to filter by. To add multiple filters, click on Add filter rule
Click Apply
💡Top Tips:
Users can simultaneously sort and filter a specific folder within the inbox, for eg. the folder can be sorted by flags and filtered by date.
Patient Matching
eConsults in the Smart Inbox can be matched to the patient record in SystmOne and EMIS clinical systems when accessing the Smart Inbox via the toolbar. The eConsults will be automatched if the matching criteria is met, manually matched using patient suggestions or when no suggestions are returned using the patients NHS number (SystmOne only) or EMIS patient ID number.
💡Top Tip:
SystmOne users only: when the eConsult has been matched to the patient record on SystmOne, users will be able to open the patient record on SystmOne via the Smart Inbox. On the eConsult click on Matched then Patient Record.
Automatching
When the patient identifiers on the eConsult match the patient details on the clinical system, the Smart Inbox will automatch the eConsult to the patient record on the clinical system. The matching criteria:
6/6 matched: First name, Last name, DOB, Gender, Postcode, NHS Number
or
5/5 matched: First name, Last name, DOB, Gender, Postcode if the patient did not provide their NHS number on the eConsult
Manual Matching
Where the eConsult does not meet the auto-matching criteria outlined above, the Smart Inbox will return suggested matches to allow the user to manually match the eConsult to the patient record.
Steps:
Click on Not matched
Suggested matches will show below based on the demographics provided on the eConsult and on the Clinical System. If you are happy with the suggested match, click on Select Match
Matched patients will return as below
Failed Match
The Smart Inbox may fail to return a match if the patient’s demographics on the eConsult does not match what is on the clinical system. In these instances you will see a Matching error on the eConsult.
To manually match the patients, copy their NHS number (SystmOne) or Patient’s ID number (EMIS).
SystmOne users
Look up the patient’s record on SystmOne and copy the NHS number into the box as shown on image below, then click on Match.
EMIS Users
Look up the patient’s record on EMIS and copy the Patient’s ID number into the box as shown on image below, then click on Match.
💡Top Tips:
Advise your patients to submit their eConsults using their NHS App login
Unmatch a patient; click on Matched then Unmatch to revert back to previous status
The date and time the eConsult was last saved to the patient record is displayed at the top
Signposting
Once your triaging team has reviewed the eConsult/eConsult Lite, and made their triaging decision, you will need to signpost the eConsult for the relevant team to action, or for remote closure by yourself or a colleague. Please refer to your Standard Operating Procedure and/or Care Navigation Toolkit to determine the best signposting option.
Based on the status chosen from the dropdown list, the eConsult/eConsult Lite will automatically be moved to that folder.
💡Top Tip:
Care Navigation Toolkit, is a tool for the practice’s Admin/Care Navigators to use to help patients access the right care, at the right time
Team
This is where you triage the eConsult to the most appropriate team member e.g. GP, ANP, pharmacist etc.
Urgency
This is where you dictate the timeframe in which this needs to have been actioned by e.g. contact patient in 24 hours or appointment to be booked within 5 days
Mode
What type of appointment/contact is required for this patient e.g. face-to-face, phone call, text message etc.
Type
The type is automatically selected depending on which eConsult template the patient has completed (admin or clinical), however this can be manually changed to send to the appropriate folder as necessary.
Status options
When the status is selected and saved, the eConsult will automatically move to that folder found in the navigation bar e.g. ‘Triaged’ or ‘Snoozed’
Waiting - the status assigned to all new eConsults, i.e. has not been reviewed/triaged yet, replaces main triage list
Snoozed – this can be used as a holding area to wait for some further information before a triage decision can be made e.g. waiting for test results to return or for a GP to have some clinical input
Awaiting response – if you have messaged a patient using the Smart Inbox and asked for a response and have not had a reply (clicked the toggle on), e.g. if you have requested images or further information from the patient, then the signpost option will automatically change and it will automatically be moved to this folder
Triaged - for any eConsults that have been reviewed and a triage suggestion made but NO appointment has been booked yet
Complete – eConsults should only be in the complete folder if they have been signposted AND the appointment made (or remotely closed), no further action is required for this eConsult within the Smart Inbox
Messaging
At the bottom of the eConsult, there will be an option to reply to the patient, click into that box to either type a new message response, choose a template or create a personal template.
Public Templates
There are a host of “public” messaging templates created by eConsult that you may find suitable to use when communicating with your patients. To view the public templates, open up the response section and click on the
icon, then select Public. Hover over the template name to preview the template content
Create Personal Message Templates
Once you’re in the respond to patient box:
Type the template content into the box as shown in the image below
Click on the save icon
Give your template a name (Title)
Save the template
You will be able to view your personal template by clicking on the
icon, then personal
Sending Messages
Whether you type a new message or utilise one of the templates, you can:
attach files up to 8MB
change the delivery method from email to SMS or add a new number or email address
allow the patient to respond
Click send
💡Top Tips:
Create personal templates for any commonly used messages that your team will be sending to patients that are not covered in the Public Templates e.g. Care Plan for Long Term Condition Review. These templates are personal to the individual user that has created the template, i.e. if user A creates the template then other users in the practice will not be able to see or use the template.
Standardising personal templates, we suggest that you create the wording for your templates externally in Word or WordPad, and share the document with relevant team members for them to create the template.
Tagging
Is a simple way to customise your Smart Inbox to the specific way that your Practice operates. It allows your practice to create Tags, the Tags acts as a label for identification or categorisation. Add a Tag to your eConsults/eConsult Lite for either a specific Clinician, action or group (e.g. Nurse team).
Create a new Tag
Open the navigation bar on the left hand side of the SmartInbox
Click on Add tag
Enter the name of the tag you want to create
Click save
💡Top Tip:
Before creating your tags, you should discuss with your wider team how you intend to use the tags and agree upon a list of tags to create
Tags are global and shared between all users in the practice
You can only add one tag per eConsult/eConsult Lite
Add a Tag to the eConsult
Open the eConsult/eConsult Lite
Click on Add tag
Choose correct tag from drop down list or use the search function
Removing Tag from the eConsult
On the eConsult/eConsult Lite card, click on the x by the tag to remove
eConsult Lite
Your practice may need to complete an eConsult Lite in the event that the patient cannot submit their own eConsult.
To access the eConsult Lite form click on the + icon then New eConsult Lite
Follow the steps then submit the eConsult Lite (consisting of 4 questions)
💡Top Tip:
eConsult Lite templates arrive and are processed in the Smart Inbox in the same manner as an eConsult submitted by the patient
Saving to Record on Clinical System
From the Smart Inbox users can save the eConsult PDF (including images), messages, comments and activities to the patient record to their respective Clinical system.
Interop (via eConsult Toolbar)
Click on Save to record , located at the top right hand corner of the Consultation Panel
The integration will save the ICE questions and answer, the entire consultation as a PDF including any comments and activities, SNOMED codes gathered in the consultation
To remove SNOMED codes, users will need to toggle them off before saving the eConsult to the Clinical system
Marking the Status as Complete will automatically save any unsaved activities in the Smart Inbox to the Clinical system
An activity log of is shown in the Consultation bar, users can easily see if the Clinical system is up to date/all activity saved from the Smart Inbox or where the eConsult/activities are partially saved in the Clinical system
💡Top Tip:
If the Save to record is greyed out, the patient is not matched. See Patient Matching section
Non-Interop
Click on the download button (you will see this next to Save to record)
Go to your Clinical System and search for the patient
Upload the eConsult PDF following your normal method for uploading clinical documents
Add the relevant SNOMED Codes
Support
Any questions or queries either email practice.support@econsult.net or use the live chat feature in the bottom right corner
For any feedback on this guide or any further questions please email practice.support@econsult.health.