practice partner
ECHO
Amplifies
Chronic Pain
Lessons
A pilot project is helping
primary care providers in
remote communities treat
complex chronic diseases
at a specialist level.
By Stuart Foxman
Dr. Andrea Furlan, left, and Dr. Ruth Dubin, Co-chairs of ECHO Ontario
photos: D.W. Dorken
photo: istockphoto.com
A
tional therapist, pharmacist and nurse. The spokes prespilot project is trying to change how coment de-identified cases and get treatment suggestions.
plex pain is managed in Ontario.
Spokes can be individuals or teams, including doctors,
“ECHO is a learning-by-doing model.
nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and physician
People will gain more and more skills, which
assistants. The sessions are educational as opposed to
they can put into practice immediately,” said Dr. Ruth
being a clinical consultation.
Dubin, Co-chair of ECHO Ontario.
“It’s a huge think tank,” says Dr. Andrea Furlan, CoECHO stands for Extension for Community HealthChair of ECHO Ontario. “We
care Outcomes. A doctor at the
look for suggestions on diagnoses,
University of New Mexico detests, referrals, and pharmacoveloped the concept. The goal is
“I connect with practices all
logical and non-pharmacological
to help primary care providers in
across the province, so feel
treatments. This is about increasremote communities treat complex chronic