Would you like to receive treatment via email?
October 16, 2007 | General
Do Americans really want to move away from the face to face visit that is critical to developing a relationship with your doctor?
A 2006 Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll showed that most people would like to use technology to communicate with physicians. Of the 2,624 U.S. adults surveyed online:
- 74 percent would like to use e-mail to communicate directly with their doctor.
- 62 percent said physicians’ use of e-mail to communicate directly with them or a family member would influence their choice of doctors a great deal or to some extent.
- 77 percent would like reminders via e-mail from their doctors when they are due for a visit or some type of medical care.
- 75 percent would like to have the ability to schedule a doctor’s visit via the Internet.
- 4 percent said they use e-mail to communicate with their doctors and 4 percent said they have it available but do not use it.
- 67 percent would like to receive the results of diagnostic tests via e-mail.
How many times have you misunderstood the tone of an email? Are you willing to take that chance on your health?
http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/coverstory/red-101507-webdocs-survey,0,5596232.story
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Comment by Deanne Marino October 22, 2007
I have very rarely misunderstood the tone of an e-mail, given the hundreds of thousands of e-mails that I have received. Yes, I would be willing to risk an occasional misunderstanding to have my health information easily accessible through e-mail.
E-mail has expanded the capability of consumers to manage information. Most health information is routine–strep test positive, PAP test negative, time for your next appointment, etc. CDHC has pushed the market to open up that information & those practitioner relationships for consumers like me who want easy access.
Comment by Arizona L October 30, 2007
While I don’t believe technology should replace face to face contact with your physician, I don’t see the harm in having the ability to receive reminders, test results, or scheduling appointments online/ via email. These things are handled via telephone already, and usually by an automated system, therefore already removing the personal contact. Email would only be another method of contact that we would have.