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Physicians' Use of and Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail for Patient Communication
Article first published online: 10 JUN 2003
DOI: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20627.x
1525-1497/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=4a710b4daf160c92826e7423b0018dd67da34f4e "Journal of General Internal Medicine")
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How to Cite
Gaster, B., Knight, C. L., De Witt, D. E., Sheffield, J. V. L., Assefi, N. P. and Buchwald, D. (2003), Physicians' Use of and Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail for Patient Communication. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18: 385–389. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20627.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 10 JUN 2003
- Article first published online: 10 JUN 2003
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- e-mail;
- patient;
- communication;
- survey;
- confidentiality
To assess physicians' use of and attitudes toward electronic mail (e-mail) for patient communication, we conducted a mail-in survey of physicians who see patients in outpatient clinics affiliated with a large academic medical center (N = 283). Seventy-two percent of physicians reported using e-mail to communicate with patients, averaging 7.7 e-mails from patients per month. The lowest level of use was by community-based primary care physicians (odds ratio, 0.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.59). Those physicians who reported using e-mail with patients reported high satisfaction with its use. Although physicians were concerned about the confidentiality of e-mail, few discussed this issue with patients.