aamc.org does not support this web browser.

    Project CORE: Coordinating Optimal Referral Experiences

    Demand for ambulatory subspecialty services has grown at rates that have overwhelmed many academic medical centers’ (AMCs) capacity, resulting in impaired access and long wait times for patients. This drives down patient and provider satisfaction, and leads to decreased quality of care.

    Based on a model initially developed and piloted at the University of California, San Francisco, the AAMC launched Project CORE: Coordinating Optimal Referral Experiences in 2014 to help AMCs improve the referral experience for both clinicians and patients. Through Project CORE, the AAMC has partnered with more than 50 AMCs, children's hospitals, and healthcare organizations to successfully implement eConsults and enhanced referrals, tools built into the electronic health record. Through this innovative model, CORE AMCs are improving efficiency and effectiveness at the interface between primary care and specialty care, thereby improving quality of care and access in a patient-centered way.

    Learn more by downloading our CORE model overview (PDF) and the benefits and services of participation (PDF) in the CORE program. 

    Email Project CORE to learn more about our 2023 offerings and to schedule an informational call with our team.

    CORE Participants

    Project CORE Participants

    Interested in joining? Email us.

    Learn more by watching our introductory video

    The CORE community is achieving positive results and continues to grow. To date, Project CORE participants:

    • Implemented eConsults and enhanced referrals in nearly all medical and surgical specialties, as well as in pediatric specialties and a growing number of ancillary specialties
    • Completed an estimated 170,000+ eConsults across the CORE Network and more than 2,000 estimated additional eConsults being placed every month
    • Achieved improvements in timely access to specialty input and decreased specialty utilization and costs
    • Achieved high levels of patient, primary care provider, and specialist satisfaction with eConsults
    • Achieved high rates of primary care provider use of the model, with more than 80% of primary care providers using eConsults on an ongoing basis at most sites where the model is mature
    • Furthered scaled the model and focused on sustainability, including engaging with payers and extending to external primary care providers and systems

    CORE Program Spotlights

    We’re proud of the results achieved by academic medical centers (AMCs) within the CORE community. Several AMCs have agreed to share their story and you can find more in the news.

    CORE in the News

    Recent Research and Publications from the CORE Network

    CORE Participants

    Adult Programs

    • Carilion Clinic
    • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
    • Dartmouth-Hitchcock
    • East Carolina University Physicians
    • Greenville Health System
    • Indiana University Health
    • Integra
    • LifeSpan
    • M Health Fairview
    • MaineHealth
    • Medical College of Wisconsin
    • MedStar Health
    • MetroHealth System
    • Nebraska Medicine
    • Ochsner Health
    • Ohio State University 
    • Oregon Health & Science University
    • Penn State Health
    • ProHEALTH New York/Optum/Long Island/NY
    • Riverside Health System
    • University of South Florida Tampa General Physicians
    • Stanford Healthcare
    • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
    • University of California, San Diego Medical Center
    • University of Colorado Health
    • University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
    • University of Michigan
    • University of Rochester
    • University of Utah Health
    • University of Vermont
    • University of Virginia Medical Center
    • University of Washington Medicine
    • University of Wisconsin (UW) Health 
    • Vidant Health
    • Wake Forest Baptist Health
    • Yale University - Yale Medicine

    Pediatric Programs

    • Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center 
    • Brenner Children’s Hospital at Wake Forest Baptist Health
    • Children’s Hospital Colorado
    • Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock 
    • Children’s Wisconsin
    • C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan 
    • Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester
    • OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
    • Seattle Children's Hospital
    • Stanford Medicine Children's Health
    • University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco
    • University Pediatric Clinic at the University of Utah
    • UVA Children’s 
    • UW Health American Family Children’s Hospital 
    • Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital


    Questions? Email us.

    Topic: