Parents enthusiastic about doctor e-mail access
Parents and pediatricians both seem to benefit from using e-mail for routine questions, Pennsylvania-based researchers report in the October issue of Pediatrics.
“Our study,” Dr. Paul Rosen told Reuters Health, “showed that parents reported a better understanding of their child’s medical tests, an increase in access to care, and improved quality of care by being able to e-mail their doctor.”
Rosen and Dr. C. Kent Kwoh of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine studied results from a physician e-mail access program over a 2-year period.
Some 306 of the 328 families who were offered the service accepted it and 121 used the service. One of the stipulations was that e-mail should not be used for emergencies.
Rosen and Kwoh found that 40 percent of the 848 e-mails were sent outside business hours. In total, 48 (5.7 percent) contained urgent messages such as notification of new symptoms or an expectation of a same-day e-mail response. However, only 2 of these were in regard to emergencies requiring same-day medical attention treatment.
The average number of e-mails received each day was 1.2. Comparison with the physician time taken to answer telephone calls showed that the e-mail approach was 57 percent faster.
The families, who were surveyed after a year, agreed that e-mail increased access and improved the quality of care. In fact, among quotes from families cited by Rosen were “e-mail brings the doctor into our home” and “the e-mail service cuts down on phone tag.”
“Patients would like the ability to e-mail their doctors,” concluded Rosen, and “more physicians should consider providing this service.”
SOURCE: Pediatrics, October 2007.
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