Can you email the doctor?

A new article at ABC News ponders this question: Should doctors use email to communicate with their patients?

As in many industries, the medical profession has not been very fast to adapt the new practices utilizing the latest technologies of Web 2.0. Many patients believe it would be easier to simply email their doctors with their questions that are not truly life threatening and avoid the time and expense of an office visit. However, less than 1/3 of doctors today use email.

Some doctors’ concerns include the worry that they won’t be reimbursed for their time, while others worry about privacy and the possibility that the emails could be intercepted by hackers, putting patient information at risk. Nevertheless, there are some patients who think emailing may be a useful means to receive help. So, should the health care field begin to look at this as a new way to help patients? For minor questions and or non-severe medical advice, it could save both time and costs for the doctor and the patient in avoiding unnecessary office visits. However, there is still the effort spent as doctors sit and answer emails, when they could be working on other critical tasks. It appears there may not be one easy solution any time in the near future.