FAQs

The Platform

  • Clinicians interested in using Consult Bridge first sign in and complete an application. Once a profile has been created, field workers can begin submitting consult requests and consultants can begin responding to requests.

    To request a consult, field workers fill out a request form with de-identified patient case information and select the relevant area of specialty.

    Once a new consult request is submitted, all consultants of that specialty receive a notification. Upon reviewing the request on the platform, consultants can either accept or decline the request. A match is made when a consultant accepts the request and the matched parties receive contact information for each other. Our hope is to make Consult Bridge a one-stop-shop for all consultation needs in the future, but for our beta version, we encourage the field worker and consultant to communicate independently via third-party means such as email, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Line.

  • Consult Bridge profiles can be viewed by all users, but contact information is kept private until a match has been made between a field worker submitting the request and the consultant who has accepted the request.

  • There is no cost to use Consult Bridge. We are a nonprofit organization seeking to bring together clinicians who want to support the work of frontline medical workers. We understand that many field workers serve in under-resourced areas and do not want cost to be a prohibitive factor in getting them the support they need.

  • Yes. Our data is stored on a designated server and not shared with any third parties.

  • Initially, our platform will not manage any patient health information. However, subsequent versions of the Consult Bridge tele-consultation platform will! All information will be handled in compliance with PHI governing agencies and policies with jurisdiction over patient data storage.

Field Workers

  • In order to be approved as a field worker who can submit consult requests through Consult Bridge, you must be a clinician practicing in an area where patients do not have access to the subspecialty care they need. Please note you must sign a waiver stating that all medical liability pertaining to the care of your patient lies with you, regardless of the medical advice given by consultants through Consult Bridge.

    We also require that our Field Works agree and adhere to The Lausanne Covenant.

  • Consult Bridge recruits medical professionals from all fields of medicine such as dermatology, cardiology, radiology, speech therapy, and physical therapy. We vet each clinician to ensure all consultants in our network are not only highly trained and certified in their area of practice but also desire to support fellow healthcare workers serving overseas in low-access, low-resourced areas.

  • Once your profile has been approved, you can submit a short consult request form to any of our available medical specialty. As our network of vetted consultants grows, more specialties will become available.

  • Our goal is for every consult request to receive a response within 3 business days. However, the actual response time will vary depending on the number of consultants in that specialty and their availability.

Consultants

  • We require consultants serving through Consult Bridge have an active and unrestricted medical license and to be board certified in the field of medicine for which they are consulting.

    * Retirees are exempt from this requirement and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

  • We are looking for medical professionals who understand and are able to adapt their skillsets to the logistical and financial limitations often found in low-resourced settings. Experience practicing medicine overseas is helpful but not required.

  • We very much appreciate any and all the help our consultants can offer. While we understand that availability may vary, we ask that our consultants strive to serve for at least a 12-month term, and to field at least 2 consult requests per month (unless fewer requests come in).

  • Field workers who submit a consult request must sign a waiver stating they exclude the consultant from any liability related to the medical care of their patient. All responsibility and liability rests solely on the clinician who is providing in-person care for the patient and submitting the consult request.
    Field workers are not to include

Donors

  • Consult Bridge Inc is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and all donations are tax-deductible (Tax ID #92-0729457).

    We will provide you with a donation verification letter annually for tax purposes. Thank you for your support!

  • Building the Consult Bridge platform requires a team of clinicians, software engineers, designers, legal consultant and administrators. Six of the eight members on our team volunteer their time and expertise. The bulk of our expenses go toward developing and maintaining the platform. This includes software engineers to build the platform, website designers to make our site user-friendly, developers to write the code, servers to store the data, and third party applications to streamline the platform’s functions. Other expenses include covering conference and administrative costs needed to promote Consult Bridge. Our goal is to keep administrative costs under 10%. Your giving enables us to offer Consult Bridge as a free resource to those who need it most in the field.