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Doctors more comfortable e-mailing colleagues than patients

Physician Practice Advisor, June 29, 2004

Never mind whether the doctor is in. Many patients want to know whether the doctor is online. And for a lot of docs, the answer is yes and no.

Eighty-five percent of physicians use e-mail to communicate with other physicians, drug companies, hospitals, and health plans, according to "The Connected Physician: Email, Communication and Connectivity,"  a report based on interviews with 1,200 physicians by Manhattan Research, a healthcare marketing information and services firm.  But few are using e-mail to communicate or care for their patients, the report says.

"While patient satisfaction will be a strong motivator for most physicians to use e-mail with patients, it is essential to shore up issues of liability and reimbursement in order to transform the virtual house call into a reality," said Erika S. Fishman, Manhattan Research senior analyst.

The report tackles issues of liability, patient satisfaction, and reimbursement models that will need to be addressed before the "virtual house call" can be the rule and not the exception. The report looks at the practices of a few pilot programs that are addressing reimbursement for e-mail consultation in a manner similar to the co-pay model.

For more information, click here.

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