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Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Virji, A; Yarnall, KSH; Krause, KM; Pollak, KI; Scannell, MA; Gradison, M; Østbye, T
Published in: BMC Med
August 15, 2006

BACKGROUND: Electronic mail (email) has the potential to improve communication between physicians and patients. METHODS: We conducted two research studies in a family practice setting: 1) a brief, anonymous patient survey of a convenience sample to determine the number of clinic patients receptive to communicating with their physician via email, and 2) a randomized, controlled pilot study to assess the feasibility of providing health education via email to family practice patients. RESULTS: Sixty-eight percent of patients used email, and the majority of those (80%) were interested in using email to communicate with the clinic. The majority also reported that their email address changed less frequently than their home address (65%, n = 173) or telephone number (68%, n = 181). Forty-two percent were willing to pay an out-of-pocket fee to have email access to their physicians. When evaluating email initiated by the clinic, 26% of otherwise eligible patients could not participate because they lacked email access; those people were more likely to be black and to be insured through Medicaid. Twenty-four subjects agreed to participate, but one-third failed to return the required consent form by mail. All participants who received the intervention emails said they would like to receive health education emails in the future. CONCLUSION: Our survey results show that patients are interested in email communication with the family practice clinic. Our feasibility study also illustrates important challenges in physician-initiated electronic communication. The 'digital divide' - decreased access to electronic technologies in lower income groups - is an ethical concern in the use of email for patient-physician communication.

Duke Scholars

Published In

BMC Med

DOI

EISSN

1741-7015

Publication Date

August 15, 2006

Volume

4

Start / End Page

18

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Preventive Medicine
  • Physicians, Family
  • Physician-Patient Relations
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Information Dissemination
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Family Practice
  • Electronic Mail
  • 42 Health sciences
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
 

Citation

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Virji, A., Yarnall, K. S. H., Krause, K. M., Pollak, K. I., Scannell, M. A., Gradison, M., & Østbye, T. (2006). Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication. BMC Med, 4, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-4-18
Virji, Ayaz, Kimberly S. H. Yarnall, Katrina M. Krause, Kathryn I. Pollak, Margaret A. Scannell, Margaret Gradison, and Truls Østbye. “Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication.BMC Med 4 (August 15, 2006): 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-4-18.
Virji A, Yarnall KSH, Krause KM, Pollak KI, Scannell MA, Gradison M, et al. Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication. BMC Med. 2006 Aug 15;4:18.
Virji, Ayaz, et al. “Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication.BMC Med, vol. 4, Aug. 2006, p. 18. Pubmed, doi:10.1186/1741-7015-4-18.
Virji A, Yarnall KSH, Krause KM, Pollak KI, Scannell MA, Gradison M, Østbye T. Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication. BMC Med. 2006 Aug 15;4:18.
Journal cover image

Published In

BMC Med

DOI

EISSN

1741-7015

Publication Date

August 15, 2006

Volume

4

Start / End Page

18

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Preventive Medicine
  • Physicians, Family
  • Physician-Patient Relations
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Information Dissemination
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Family Practice
  • Electronic Mail
  • 42 Health sciences
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences