Study finds big increases in physicans' online communications with patients
According to American Medical News (AMN), a new report by Manhattan Research states that online communications by physicians have increased by 14% since 2006. The survey of 1900 physicians found that 39% of physicians use online communication tools such as email, secure messaging, or instant messaging.
Dermatologists lead all other surveyed practices in the volume of online communications, which, according to Girish Munavalli, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, can be attributed to "a lot of triage calls and calls for clarification of instructions" which come from dermatologists' large patient volumes. "This is perfect for short e-mail communication and reminders," added Dr. Munavalli.
Dermatologists are followed by oncologists, neurologists, endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, and primary care physicians.
Of course, certain obstacles remain. Some doctors abstain from using such technology because of liability worries, while many patients prefer in-person meetings because of concerns regarding privacy of their health information. Still, the report suggests that this increase may be due to the growing comfort level and acceptance of online communication between physicians and patients. And it may even indicate a larger trend of greater familiarity and use of other health-related technologies, such as EMRs and personal health records.
Graphic via AMN. Source: "Physicians in 2012: The Outlook on Health Information Technology," Manhattan Research, January.
"Online contact growing between physicians, patients," American Medical News (February 15, 2010).
