Project ECHO

The ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) program is a tele-mentoring program designed to create a virtual Community of Practice. ECHO brings together health-care providers and subject matter experts using videoconference technology. ECHO sessions include a brief accredited lecture presentation, case presentation by one of the providers, case discussion and treatment and resource recommendations from the group, fostering an “all learn, all teach” approach. 

Participants are engaged in bi-directional learning by sharing clinical challenges and learnings from both peers and experts.  ECHO has been recognized globally as a successful tool to improve patient care outcomes.

Note: ECHO sessions are an approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and approved by UBC CPD.

• Submit and present a case from your practice to the Specialist Hub and Peers to obtain a written list of treatment recommendations 
• Participate in exchange of knowledge, experience, and expertise at no cost
• Receive a short didactic by a subject-matter expert on evidence-based practices
• Participate from any device, from anywhere using Zoom
• Our curriculum is based on a continuous needs assessment of provider needs.  Your suggestions for topics can be submitted here
• Learn how to navigate the system and resources in Interior Health and B.C.
• You receive MOC and Mainpro+, or certificate of attendance

Participants from multiple locations connect at regularly scheduled times with a specialist hub and peers through Zoom. During ECHO sessions, the general agenda is:

• Introductions
• Didactic
• Case Presentation(s)
• Clarifying questions and case discussion
• Treatment discussion
• Receive a write up of treatment recommendations within 2 weeks of the session

The specialist hub team depends on the ECHO program itself, but in general, the hub includes a specialist physician, a general practitioners with sub-specialty expertise, clinical nurse specialist, social worker, educator, pharmacist, or others that are appropriate to the topic and case.

ECHO is a guided-practice model that aims to increase workforce capacity by sharing knowledge. Hub specialists meet regularly with primary care providers and allied health professionals in local communities via Zoom to train in the delivery of specialty care services.

The ECHO model, developed at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, does not actually provide care directly to patients. Instead, it provides primary care providers and front-line clinicians with the knowledge and support they need to manage patients with complex conditions in the patients’ own communities. This dramatically increases access to specialty treatment, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Learn more: 

• About the ECHO Model
• See the global spread of Project ECHO
• Canadian Project ECHO Superhub