Experiences of physicians who frequently use e-mail with patients.
Despite its potential, the use of e-mail for physician-patient communication has not been widely adopted. Our purpose was to survey the experiences of physicians who are early adopters of the technology. Physicians, identified through a professional Internet information portal, completed a survey, including an assessment of satisfaction with using e-mail with patients. We identified 204 physicians who reported using e-mail with patients on a daily basis. Average age of the respondents was 49 years, 82% were male, and 35% were primary-care physicians. Among the 204 frequent users, commonly reported e-mail topics were new, nonurgent symptoms, and questions about lab results. Despite their daily use, 25% were not satisfied with physician-patient e-mail. The most important reasons for using e-mail with patients among those who were satisfied were "time saving" (33%) and "helps deliver better care" (28%) compared with "patient requested" (80%) among those who were not satisfied (p <.01). Dissatisfied physicians reported concerns about time demands, medicolegal risks, and ability of patients to use e-mail appropriately. Although the majority of these "vanguard" physicians reported benefits, some did not recommend that colleagues adopt this new technology. Increasing integration into practice to enhance time-saving aspects and improve patient education might lead to more sustained use of this promising communication tool.
Houston
Thomas K
TK
Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Sands
Daniel Z
DZ
Nash
Beth R
BR
Ford
Daniel E
DE
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D003219:Confidentiality; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D034742:Electronic Mail / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States