Physicians slow to e-mail routinely with patients

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Informatics
• Physician-Patient Communication

Background:

• Physician-patient email communication is seen as a tool to enhance patient care.
• Despite patient interest, physician adoption of email for patient communication is low.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the adoption and use of email for patient communication among office-based physicians.
• To identify factors associated with physician email use in patient care.

Main Methods:

• National study analyzing data from office-based physicians in 2008.
• Investigated the availability and utilization of information technology (IT) for patient email.

Main Results:

• Only 6.7% of physicians routinely emailed patients in 2008.
• About one-third of physicians had IT for patient email; less than 20% used it routinely.
• Physicians with electronic medical records and those in HMOs or medical schools were more likely to use email.

Conclusions:

• Physician adoption of email for patient communication remains uncommon despite its potential benefits.
• Factors like practice setting and IT infrastructure influence email adoption rates.
• Further research may be needed to understand and overcome barriers to widespread physician-patient email use.