Open AccessPhysicians' Use of and Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail for Patient Communication
Author(s) -
Gaster Barak,
Knight Christopher L.,
Witt Dawn E.,
Sheffield John V. L.,
Assefi Nassim P.,
Buchwald Dedra
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20627.x
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , odds ratio , confidentiality , electronic mail , confidence interval , patient satisfaction , electronic communication , nursing , internet privacy , political science , computer science , law
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.