Enhancing doctor-patient communication using email: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
The doctor-patient relationship has been eroded by many factors. Would e-mail enhance communication and address some of the barriers inherent to our medical practices?


METHODS
Of our study population, 4 physicians offered e-mail communication to participating patients and 4 did not. Both patients and physicians completed questionnaires regarding satisfaction, perceived quality, convenience, and promptness of the communication.


RESULTS
Patient satisfaction significantly increased in the e-mail group compared with the control group in the areas of convenience (P < .0001) and the amount of time spent contacting their physician (P < .0001). Physician satisfaction in the e-mail group increased regarding convenience, amount of time spent on messages, and volume of messages. The response time was longer with e-mail. When asked if patients should be able to e-mail their physicians, most patients in the e-mail group and all but 2 of the physicians in the non-e-mail group responded "yes."


CONCLUSIONS
E-mail communication was found to be a more convenient form of communication. Satisfaction by both patients and physicians improved in the e-mail group. The volume of messages and the time spent answering messages for the e-mail group physicians was not increased. E-mail has the potential to improve the doctor-patient relationship as a result of better communication.
Leong
Shou Ling
SL
Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. sleong@psu.edu
Gingrich
Dennis
D
Lewis
Peter R
PR
Mauger
David T
DT
George
John H
JH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003219:Confidentiality; D034742:Electronic Mail / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000639:trends; D008875:Middle Aged; D009817:Office Management / Q000639:trends; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires