Doctors Getting Paid For Emails

from the one-more-step-forward... dept

Wed, Mar 2nd 2005 1:34am — Mike Masnick

It seems like a pretty natural progression. In 2002, doctors weren't that interested in emailing with patients. By 2003, a few more doctors were beginning to see the value of email communications, but it was still a minority. Last year, however, it started to become common for doctors to email patients. So, where does that leave us in 2005? Well, it appears that doctors are now getting paid for emailing with patients. In some cases, emailing costs as much as an in-person appointment -- which seems a bit steep. However, other doctors seem to be experimenting with a sort of "subscription" policy, where a patient pays a certain yearly fee and can email with his or her doctor. While email isn't always the best way to communicate about medical issues, sometimes it can be much better than alternatives. Having that option out there is probably quite valuable to both patients and doctors.

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