Some physicians find that emailing with patients saves time and money, but others have concerns about the practice, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Benefits of Emailing With Patients
Physicians who email with their patients say the practice:
Andrew Martorella — an endocrinologist in New York — said that if he did not email with patients, he likely would need at least one extra staff member to field patients’ phone calls. He added that emailing with patients has “definitely made a big change in terms of reducing costs, especially for solo practitioners.”
Concerns About Emailing With Patients
Physicians who do not communicate with patients via email cite concerns about the practice, including:
Andrew Adesman — chief of developmental pediatrics at Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York — said he prefers office visits and phone calls to emailing with patients. “Often times brevity has the potential to compromise clarity,” he said.
Comments About Secure Communication
Jane Thorpe — an associate professor of health policy at George Washington University — said that doctors should use a secure system — such as an encrypted message or protected portal — to communicate with patients instead of using personal email.
Peter Dehnel — a Minneapolis-based pediatrician who is chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics — said that AAP and other industry groups are working to develop guidelines for physicians’ electronic communications (Reddy, Wall Street Journal, 3/25).
Source: iHealthBeat
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