Report: Physicians slow to email routinely with patients
Although many patients want to email their physicians, physician adoption and use of email with patients remains uncommon—only 6.7 percent of office-based physicians routinely emailed patients in 2008, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), based in Washington D.C.
Overall, about one-third of office-based physicians reported that IT was available in their practice for emailing patients about clinical issues, according to the study. Of those, fewer than one in five reported using email with patients routinely; the remaining physicians were roughly evenly split between occasional users and non-users.
Physicians in practices with access to EMRs and those working in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or medical school settings were more likely to adopt and use email to communicate with patients, compared with other physicians. However, even among the highest users—physicians in group/staff-model HMOs—only 50.6 percent reported routinely emailing patients, according to the study.
Physician concerns about liability have hindered adoption and use of email to communicate with patients, the study reported: “Federal policy efforts currently under way to support delivery system reforms may help spur physician adoption and use of email communication with patients indirectly,” the authors wrote.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's incentives for implementing meaningful use of EMRs are not linked specifically to electronic communication with patients, "but growth in EMR use as a result of the incentives may at least indirectly encourage email adoption and use to the extent electronic messaging tools are integrated or used in conjunction with EMRs," they stated.
Overall, about one-third of office-based physicians reported that IT was available in their practice for emailing patients about clinical issues, according to the study. Of those, fewer than one in five reported using email with patients routinely; the remaining physicians were roughly evenly split between occasional users and non-users.
Physicians in practices with access to EMRs and those working in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or medical school settings were more likely to adopt and use email to communicate with patients, compared with other physicians. However, even among the highest users—physicians in group/staff-model HMOs—only 50.6 percent reported routinely emailing patients, according to the study.
Physician concerns about liability have hindered adoption and use of email to communicate with patients, the study reported: “Federal policy efforts currently under way to support delivery system reforms may help spur physician adoption and use of email communication with patients indirectly,” the authors wrote.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's incentives for implementing meaningful use of EMRs are not linked specifically to electronic communication with patients, "but growth in EMR use as a result of the incentives may at least indirectly encourage email adoption and use to the extent electronic messaging tools are integrated or used in conjunction with EMRs," they stated.