When allergy specialists advise other doctors via e-consults, everyone — patients included — saves time, a US study suggests.

In an e-consult, specialists review a patient’s electronic medical record through a secure portal, and answer questions from colleagues who seek their opinion.

An analysis of 306 allergy e-consults shows that more than one in four specialists are happy to provide advice and education without the patient needing to go for further diagnostic testing, or to see a specialist.

The system is intended to replace the informal practice of clinicians seeking specialist opinion by phone or stopping by their offices, which sees specialists receiving only very limited or non-specific information.