A Mixed-Methods Study of Patient-Provider E-Mail Content in a Safety-Net Setting.
To explore the content of patient-provider e-mails in a safety-net primary care clinic, we conducted a content analysis using inductive and deductive coding of e-mail exchanges (n = 31) collected from January through November 2013. Participants were English-speaking adult patients with a chronic condition (or their caregivers) cared for at a single publicly funded general internal medicine clinic and their primary care providers (attending general internist physicians, clinical fellows, internal medicine residents, and nurse practitioners). All e-mails were nonurgent. Patients included a medical update in 19% of all e-mails. Patients requested action in 77% of e-mails, and the most common requests overall were for action regarding medications or treatment (29%). Requests for information were less common (45% of e-mails). Patient requests (n = 56) were resolved in 84% of e-mail exchanges, resulting in 63 actions. These results show that patients in safety-net clinics are capable of safely and effectively using electronic messaging for between-visit communication with providers. Safety-net systems should implement electronic communications tools as soon as possible to increase health care access and enhance patients' involvement in their care.
a Department of Medicine , University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
Jacob B
JB
Mirsky
a Department of Medicine , University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
Lina
L
Tieu
a Department of Medicine , University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
Courtney
C
Lyles
a Department of Medicine , University of California, San Francisco , San Francisco , California , USA.
Urmimala
U
Sarkar
D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D034742:Electronic Mail / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019370:Observation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011203:Poverty; D011320:Primary Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D064876:Safety-net Providers