Physician/Patient E-Mail Communication
I was thumbing through the Charlotte Observer and came across an article that caught my eye. The article is called, "Physicians slow to join e-mail universe." I remember how I hated e-mail and avoided it as much as possible. I preferred to talk face to face with a person. Communicating by e-mail seemed impersonal and sterile. Like everything else, if you don't embrace technology you will be left behind. The advances in computer technology have revolutionized the way in which we conduct personal and professional tasks. The most mundane tasks are performed in an instant. Nowhere has this change been more evident than with e-mail communication. When I started out in the work force years ago, trying to schedule meetings or catch a colleague in their office resulted in numerous phone calls. Today, we can use e-mail to set up meetings and communicate information with an instant response.
In this age of instant communication, patients expect their health care providers to embrace the changes in technology. Doctors and health care practioners can communicate patient medical information instantly without having to leave telephone messages. However, some doctors are slow to embrace email communication. The Charlotte Observer article points to doctor's hesitation to discuss patient information via e-mail. The article states that "fewer than a third of U.S. doctors use e-mail to communicate with their patients." I am sure that there are many reasons why physicians are a little leery about e-mail communication. One issue surrounding the reluctance among doctors to communicate patient information via e-mail, may be confidentiality of the information. Communicating patient health information may increase the risk of the information being breeched. If there are not sufficient security measures put in place by the physician, the physician bears responsibility for the breech of information. Another area of concern, is that patients may interpret the e-mail communication incorrectly. This could result in possible legal/liability issues.
The health care industry has been slow to embrace the change in e-mail communication. We could not have imagined all of the things that can be handled online. The banking industry has been in the forefront of providing services online. You can pay bills, balance your checking account and apply for loans online. The retail industry starting using bar codes to track merchandise. The health care industry eventually caught on by using bar codes to track medical records, supplies and drugs.
The AMA supports physician e-mail communication by stating that "e-mail can aid in the delivery of the health care process by allowing written follow up instructions, test results and dissemination of educational materials for patients, as well as, a means for patients to easily reach their physician on routine health matters." Despite the AMA stance on e-mail communication, the health care industry has been slow to embrace this form of communication. There are routine medical tasks such as prescriptions, appointments, referrals and lab results that can be communicated via this medium.
My generation has been slow to embrace computer technology. My children have grown up with the Internet, iPods, cell phones, e-mails, text messaging and online chat rooms. This generation believes in instant gratification. They want everything now! They want the convenience of getting their information online. These tech savvy health care consumers will be the driving force behind the change in physician/patient e-mail communication.