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How effective is email communication for patients requiring elective surgery?
Geraldine Ketteridge1, Hilary Delbridge, Leigh Delbridge
1University of Sydney Endocrine Surgical Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
ANZ Journal of Surgery
|August 4, 2005
Summary
Email communication is an effective tool for patients undergoing elective surgery. This study found that providing information on email use significantly increased patient engagement compared to a control group.
Area of Science:
- Surgical communication
- Health informatics
- Patient engagement
Background:
- Growing internet use for health information and communication.
- Limited research on patient-surgeon email communication effectiveness.
- Need to assess email utility for pre-operative elective surgery patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of email communication for patients before elective surgery.
- To compare email utilization rates between patients encouraged to use email and a control group.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study comparing 306 patients receiving an email information sheet with 352 controls.
- Study focused on patients undergoing thyroid or parathyroid surgery at a tertiary referral center.
Main Results:
- 16% of patients in the study group used email versus 3% in the control group (P = 0.0001).
- Email users were significantly younger (mean age 46.2) than non-users (mean age 54.6).
- 50 patients sent 101 emails, mostly for single issues, with some raising multiple concerns.
Conclusions:
- Routine email communication is effective for patients undergoing elective surgery.
- Addresses concerns regarding medicolegal issues and other potential disadvantages.
- Facilitates patient-surgeon communication in the pre-operative setting.