Doctors Warming Up To Email
from the not-quite-that-bad dept
Two years ago we had a post about how few doctors were willing to communicate with their patients via email. Some doctors were afraid they would be overwhelmed with email, or that important information would get lost in not being able to speak directly to the patient. A year ago, it sounded like the tide was turning as a study showed that doctor-patient emails were generally very helpful. Now, it appears the doctors are catching on. Many more are emailing with patients and find that it's been very useful. Often, patients are better able to express what they're feeling when they get to write it down, rather than when faced with the doctor in the white coat staring down at them. Certainly, some people abuse the communications channel, but it sounds like very few do - and the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. Still, there are some doctors who are concerned that they don't get to charge for email consultations, and are trying to figure out ways around that. Realizing this is becoming an issue, some health insurance plans are covering doctor email consultations in addition to regular visits.
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MLO
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Liability and Reimbursement
The refusal of insurance companies to reimburse Physicians' use of a new techology (e.g. e-mail instead of an office visit) also discourages adoption of new technologies.
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doctors accepting emails from patients
Josh
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Re: doctors accepting emails from patients
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