Your Connection to Specialty Care
Internist Appreciates ‘Real-time’ Communication offered by Cleveland Clinic's DrConnect

Most physicians want to keep tabs on patients they refer to specialty care. And for Dave Fantelli, MD, an internist with offices in Summit and Portage counties, this is an especially important aspect of the quality care he offers patients.

"Through DrConnect, we receive real-time information on patients referred to Cleveland Clinic," he says. "We can even see the notes their specialist has written, and we can view results for laboratory work and other tests as soon as they're available. This is good patient care, and that's the bottom line for us as physicians."

Originally introduced in 2006, Cleveland Clinic's DrConnect program is now used by thousands of physicians in more than 30 countries. These referring professionals are linked to a sophisticated electronic medical record (EMR) system that unifies Cleveland Clinic's main campus hospital complex with its 13 regional Ohio Family Health Center locations, 11 local community hospitals, and medical centers in Florida and Canada into what is essentially a common practice environment.

Through DrConnect, referring physicians have secure access to the EMR of patients they refer to Cleveland Clinic. Designed specifically to meet the needs of busy medical practices, DrConnect automatically generates a single, daily email notification to alert physicians that they can log onto their secure account to view new information regarding their patient's treatment at Cleveland Clinic. These emails contain no private patient information, and only the physician or authorized member of the office staff can log into the secure account to view patient information.

"Any time you have the information you need to take care of patients, it makes your job more rewarding because you know you're giving better care," says Dr. Fantelli. "DrConnect enables me to know what's going on so that I can give patients proper guidance. The ability to communicate information with Cleveland Clinic doctors is just invaluable."

With 14 physicians at five offices, Dr. Fantelli's group practice, which is called Primary Care Associates, sees a large volume of patients. In addition to internists, the group includes pediatricians and family medicine physicians. Dr. Fantelli alone refers four to six patients a month to Cleveland Clinic.

"I have one particular patient who required complicated spine surgery," notes Dr. Fantelli. " With DrConnect ", I was able to determine exactly what was to be done before, during and after the surgery and was able to help contribute to the explanations that were provided to her. This has made her feel much more comfortable.

"Doctors who use DrConnect are less likely to order redundant tests because they're able to easily see what has been done at Cleveland Clinic," he adds. "This saves patients a lot of aggravation because they're not wasting their time and incurring unnecessary expenses. The program also makes patient's office visits more efficient."

Currently, about eight other physicians at Primary Care Associates are taking advantage of DrConnect. "They absolutely love using it," says Dr. Fantelli. "We all feel it is really helps us follow our patients' progress and enhances communications between Cleveland Clinic specialists, physicians in our practice and our patients."

According to Jonathan L. Schaffer, MD, MBA, managing director of Cleveland Clinic's DrConnect program, "DrConnect offers referring physicians a whole new level of professional collaboration. As their patients are treated at Cleveland Clinic, the online program keeps them connected and well informed. Our goal is to help referring doctors determine the best options for their patients and to empower them to seamlessly continue their care when patients return to them."

"I think DrConnect is something all hospitals should strive to have," Dr. Fantelli says. "It's absolutely invaluable for us."