Timely response to secure messages from primary care patients

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Primary Care Medicine
• Patient Communication

Background:

• Secure electronic messaging is a common communication channel initiated by primary care patients.
• Timely responses to these messages are critical for ensuring patient safety and maintaining high-quality care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the extent and patterns of response delays for patient-initiated secure electronic messages within primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a database containing secure electronic messages.
• A random sample of 353 messages from 4 primary care clinics was examined.
• Delays were defined as messages not opened within 12 hours or not responded to within 36 hours.

Main Results:

• 8.5% of messages remained unopened after 12 hours, and 17.6% received no response within 36 hours.
• Patients over 50 years old were more likely to experience delayed responses (25.7%).
• Response delays were significantly higher during weekends (Friday-Sunday).

Conclusions:

• The current secure electronic message system exhibits high rates of delayed responses.
• Weekend communication presents a significant challenge, necessitating improved workflow management.
• Strategies like 24/7 message centers or automated rerouting may be required to mitigate delays.