http://www.medrants.com/archives/2290 Internal medicine, American health care, and especially medical education Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:15:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.medrants.com/archives/2290/comment-page-1#comment-13704 CardioNP Thu, 03 Mar 2005 04:14:24 +0000 http://medrants.com/archives/2005/03/02/an-idea-whose-time-has-come/#comment-13704 I have experienced using email as both a provider and as a patient. I currently use RelayHealth to communicate with my PCP who is affiliated with UC Davis. Unfortunately, the email is filtered thru his LVN and sometimes I am not sure my information is appropriately interpreted. Liked it much better when I lived in LA and had direct email communication with my private internist. Before the VA restricted use of email with patients, I had several who used email to communicate. With the appropriate patient it was very useful and more expedient than playing telephone tag. However, there were patients who started sending jokes. Another doctor had a patient send her a 12 page Excel spreadsheet with all of his symptoms, medications, side effects and supplements recorded by date and time! I have experienced using email as both a provider and as a patient. I currently use RelayHealth to communicate with my PCP who is affiliated with UC Davis. Unfortunately, the email is filtered thru his LVN and sometimes I am not sure my information is appropriately interpreted. Liked it much better when I lived in LA and had direct email communication with my private internist.
Before the VA restricted use of email with patients, I had several who used email to communicate. With the appropriate patient it was very useful and more expedient than playing telephone tag. However, there were patients who started sending jokes. Another doctor had a patient send her a 12 page Excel spreadsheet with all of his symptoms, medications, side effects and supplements recorded by date and time!

]]> http://www.medrants.com/archives/2290/comment-page-1#comment-13700 Lawrence Markman, M.D. Thu, 03 Mar 2005 02:06:38 +0000 http://medrants.com/archives/2005/03/02/an-idea-whose-time-has-come/#comment-13700 It's interesting that some insurers are now willing to pay for e-mail consultations when for the past 50 years they have refused to pay for telephone consultation work. Both telephone and e-mail communication essentially accomplish the same thing. There appears to be a double standard here. Will doctors now refuse to return telephone calls and insist that all patients must communicate by e-mail or come in for an office visit? It’s interesting that some insurers are now willing to pay for e-mail consultations when for the past 50 years they have refused to pay for telephone consultation work. Both telephone and e-mail communication essentially accomplish the same thing. There appears to be a double standard here. Will doctors now refuse to return telephone calls and insist that all patients must communicate by e-mail or come in for an office visit?

]]>