Doctor-patient communication via electronic mail in Family Medicine

Abstract

Introduction: E-mail correspondence has acquired its own place as a vital medium for information exchange and for peoples relationships. Its applicability in health services has led to the creation of guidelines by the Permanent Committee of European Physicians and by the American Medical Informatics Association. Bearing in mind the potential of e-mail and the fact that, in Portugal, the extent of its current use is unknown, we found it appropriate to study the experience of this sort of interaction on the practice of a Family Physician. Aim:With this essay we intend to describe patients that use e-mail regarding their age and gender, and the purposes behind such use. Type of study: Observational, descriptive, transversal. Place: Cascais Community Health Center, USF Marginal. Population: Patients that provided their e-mails, from December 15, 2007 to June 26, 2008. Methodology: Analysis of medical records and e-mails received. Data base and statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Office Excel 2003. Results: From the Physicians patient list, 283 (15.2%) provided their e-mail addresses, 64.0% of whom were female. The age average was 44.8 (± 18.5) years old. Of the 283 patients that provided their e-mail addresses, 30% came to contact the Physician through its use, 5.0% of the Physicians total patients. Two hundred and four e-mail messages were received. The most frequent subjects observed were: administrative questions (36.9%), information regarding test results (13.1%), questions on health related issues (11.2%) and clinical follow up (10.7%). Discussion:When we analyze the reasons for contact, results are similar to those obtained in other studies and are in conformity with European and North-American guidelines on this type of communication. This new form of interaction may represent an important supplement to face to face consultation, improving the quality of care provided and health professionals time management.