Closing the distance between GPs and Specialists

When Bunbury GP Dr Grace Morley was caring for a patient experiencing severe hypoglycaemia on insulin, she knew the usual approach was not enough.

Rather than sending the patient away for a hospital endocrinology appointment, which she was worried they might not attend, she used Diabetes WA Connect to bring specialist advice into the consultation room.

In a multidisciplinary case conference involving the patient, an endocrinologist and a diabetes educator, Dr Morley was able to discuss the case in real time and work through a safer management plan.

Dr Morley says this helps address a major challenge in rural medicine – access. Without local endocrinology services, patients may otherwise need to travel to Perth for specialist review, which is not always practical or even possible. For regional GPs, Dr Morley says, access to an endocrinologist in their consulting room can make a critical difference.

“It’s useful for more complex patients with other conditions and issues where the standard care just isn’t working, as it gives reassurance around management and troubleshooting,” Dr Morley said.

The service was developed in response to a need identified by GPs and people living with diabetes themselves. While most diabetes care can be managed in general practice, access to timely specialist input can help when questions arise around insulin, medications, side effects or other barriers to care.

Rather than replacing existing systems, Diabetes WA Connect is intended to complement them by creating another pathway for collaboration between primary care and specialist teams. By bringing multiple clinicians into the same conversation, the service supports more integrated care.

“It goes beyond the standard referral pathway,” says Diabetes WA Connect endocrinologist Dr Greg Ong. “Country GPs are highly skilled and manage the vast majority of diabetes care, but they are often working a long way from specialist services. If troubleshooting can be done by phone, they can put a management plan in place much sooner.”

Feedback from country GPs suggests the service is also improving clinician confidence.

“When we surveyed our country GPs, what we heard was that they felt more confident putting plans in place after speaking with Diabetes WA Connect, even if the plan itself didn’t change,” says Dr Ong.

For regional and remote practices, that combination of specialist support, improved timeliness and reduced travel burden has the potential to make a meaningful difference for both doctors and patients. “Routinely I don’t need to seek a second opinion around diabetes management, but it was so good for this case,” says Dr Morley. “We don’t have access to an endocrinologist here, which can make it challenging as patients have to go to Perth, and if they are elderly or otherwise unwell, they may not be able to.It’s also very quick and easy to book an appointment online. I also like that you get paid for that time, which you don’t when you’re ringing around for a second opinion in your own time.”

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