THE Use and attitudes towards telephone and e-mail communication between doctors and patients: a survey of general practitioners working in Matosinhos local health unit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v38i3.13404Keywords:
Family practice, Health services accessibility, Electronic mail, TelephoneAbstract
Introduction: Remote contact between general practitioners and patients is a key component of accessibility to primary care.
Objective: This study aims to determine the frequency of (and attitudes towards) the use of telephone and e-mail between general practitioners working in Matosinhos and their patients.
Methods: A census of general practitioners working in Matosinhos was invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey-based study. An anonymous, paper, self-administered questionnaire was applied, and descriptive data analysis was used.
Results: Eighty-one completed questionnaires were obtained (90.0% response rate). All general practitioners reported communicating with patients by telephone but one-third never/rarely exchanged e-mails with them. Most considered that the use of the telephone and e-mail is an overload for which they do not have enough time but acknowledged that both tools facilitate the management of patient lists and appointments. Participants stated that they would use both tools more often if interactions could be recorded in real-time and that they would use the telephone more often if it was accounted for in their performance evaluation. General practitioners with larger lists more often reported telephone calls with their patients. General practitioners working in ‘Model B’ practices more often used e-mail with their patients. General practitioners that use e-mail less often considered that it represents an overload and has a negative risk/benefit ratio, they less often agree that it facilitates the management of patient lists and appointments and wouldn't increase the frequency of use even if it was accounted for in their performance evaluation.
Conclusion: All general practitioners have telephone calls with patients but express several negative attitudes towards this type of remote contact. General practitioners who are frequent e-mail users more often express positive attitudes, compared to the ones who are not regular e-mail adopters. Organizational policies should consider general practitioners’ attitudes.
Downloads
References
Haggerty JL, Lévesque JF, Santor DA, Burge F, Beaulieu C, Bouharaoui F, et al. Accessibility from the patient perspective: Comparison of primary healthcare evaluation instruments. Healthc Policy. 2011; Dec; 7(Spec Issue): 94–107.
Kringos DS, Boerma WG, Hutchinson A, Van Der Zee J, Groenewegen PP. The breadth of primary care: A systematic literature review of its core dimensions. BMC Health Serv Res 10, 65 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-10-653.
Plochg T, Schoenstein M. Unclassified DELSA/HEA(2011)16 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d’origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format. 2011.
Baleiras S, Ramos V. A gestão da prática clínica pelo médico de família. Rev Port Clin Geral. 1992;9(4):116–24.
Santos MG utilização telefone manual MGF 2000.
Nunes R RG. Questões ético-jurídicas da consulta médica por via telefónica. Rev Cent Estud Judiciários. 2009;235–41.
Direcção Geral de Saúde - Departamento de Qualidade em Saúde. Manual de Acreditação de Unidades de Saúde - versão 2. 2014. 1-80 p.
Wensing M, Mainz J, Grol R. A standardised instrument for patient evaluations of general practice care in Europe. Eur J Gen Pract. 2000; 6:3, 82-87.
Ferreira PL, Raposo V. A voz dos utilizadores. Matosinhos: ACeS Matosinhos; 2015.
Ferreira PL, Raposo V. Monitorização da satisfação dos utilizadores das USF e de uma amostra de UCSP [Internet]. Coimbra: Centro de Estudos e Investigação em Saúde da Universidade de Coimbra; 2015. Available from: http://www2.acss.min-saude.pt/Portals/0/2015.08.24-Relatório Final-VF.pdf
Granja M, Ponte C, Cavadas LF. What keeps family physicians busy in Portugal? A multicentre observational study of work other than direct patient contacts. BMJ Open. 2014;4(6).
Richardson WC, Berwick DM, Bisgard JC, et al. Committee on Quality Health Care I of M. CROSSING THE QUALITY CHASM: A NEW HEALTH SYSTEM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. 2001.
Baer D. Patient-physician e-mail communication: the kaiser permanente experience. J Oncol Pract. 2011;7(4):230–3.
Hansen CS, Christensen KL, Ertmann R. Patients and general practitioners have different approaches to e-mail consultations. Dan Med J. 2014;61(6):A486.
Atherton H. Use of e-mail for consulting with patients in general practice. Br J Gen Pract. 2013;(March):118–9.
Meyer B, Atherton H, Sawmynaden P, Car J. Email for communicating results of diagnostic medical investigations to patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD007980. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007980.pub2.
Ye J, Rust G, Fry-Johnson Y, Strothers H. E-mail in patient-provider communication: A systematic review. Patient Educ Couns. 2010; Aug;80(2):266-73.
Pinhão R, Calisto M, Pimentel MA FR“. Implementação da comunicação médico-doente via endereço electrónico na consulta de MGF. Rev Port Clin Geral. 2009;25:634–8.
Granja M. O que ocupa os médicos de família? Caracterização do trabalho médico para além da consulta. Rev Port Clin Geral. 2009;25:639–46.
Ponte C. A utilização do correio electrónico na comunicação com os utentes da USF Porta do Sol. Rev Port Clin Geral. 2011;27:274–80.
Andreassen HK, Trondsen M, Kummervold PE, Gammon D, Hjortdahl P. Patients who use e-mediated communication with their doctor: New constructions of trust in the patient-doctor relationship. Qual Health Res. 2006 Feb;16(2):238-48.
Houston TK, Sands DZ, Nash BR, Ford DE. Experiences of Physicians Who Frequently Use E-Mail With Patients. Health Commun [Internet]. 2003;15(4):515–25. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hhth20
Johnson LW, Garrido T, Christensen K HM. Successful practices in the use of secure e-mail. Perm J. 2014;18(3):50–4.
Roter DL, Larson S, Sands DZ, Ford DE, Houston T. Can E-mail messages between patients and physicians be patient-centered? Health Commun. 2008;23(1):80-6.
Popeski N, McKeen C, Khokhar B, Edwards A, Ghali WA, Sargious P, et al. Perceived Barriers to and Facilitators of Patient-to-Provider E-Mail in the Management of Diabetes Care. Can J Diabetes. 2015 Nov; 21(11): e14197.
Wallwiener M, Wallwiener CW, Kansy K, Seeger H, Rajab TK. Original article of electronic messaging on the Q Impact patient-physician interaction. J Telemed Care. 2009;15(5):1–8.
Gaster B, Knight CL, DeWitt DE, Sheffield JVL, Assefi NP, Buchwald D. Physicians’ use of and attitudes toward electronic mail for patient communication. J Gen Intern Med. 2003 May;18(5):385-9.
Peleg, R., Nazarenko, E. Providing cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses to patients: The patient’s perspective, a cross sectional study. Isr J Health Policy Res 1, 32 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-4015-1-32.
Dash J, Haller DM, Sommer J, Junod Perron N. Use of email, cell phone and text message between patients and primary-care physicians: cross-sectional study in a French-speaking part of Switzerland. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Oct 5;16(1):549.
Ortega Egea JM, González MVR, Menéndez MR. eHealth usage patterns of European general practitioners: A five-year (2002-2007) comparative study. Int J Med Inform. 2010 Aug;79(8):539-53.
McKinstry B, Watson P, Pinnock H, Heaney D, Sheikh A. Confidentiality and the telephone in family practice: A qualitative study of the views of patients, clinicians and administrative staff. Fam Pract. 2009 Oct;26(5):344-50.
McKinstry B, Watson P, Pinnock H, Heaney D, Sheikh A. Telephone consulting in primary care: A triangulated qualitative study of patients and providers. Br J Gen Pract. 2009 Jun;59(563):e209-18.
Bunn F, Byrne G, Kendall S. Telephone consultation and triage: effects on health care use and patient satisfaction. In: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2004 Oct 18;(4):CD004180.
Boukus ER, Grossman JM OA. Physicians slow to e-mail routinely with patients. Issue Br Cent Stud Heal Syst Chang. 2010;(134):1–5.
Yvonne Zhou Y, Garrido T, Chin HL, Wiesenthal AM, Liang LL. Patient Access to an Electronic Health Record With Secure Messaging: Impact on Primary Care Utilization. Am J Manag Care. 2007 Jul;13(7):418-24.
Chen C, Garrido T, Chock D, Okawa G, Liang L. The Kaiser Permanente electronic health record: Transforming and streamlining modalities of care. Health Aff. 2009; 28(2):323-33.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Portuguese Journal of Family Medicine and General Practice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors will assign to the RPMGF the sole right to publish and distribute the content of the manuscript specified in this declaration via physical, electronic, broadcasting or any other medium that may come into existence. They also grant the RPMGF the right to use and exploit this manuscript, in particular by assigning, selling or licensing its content. This permission is permanent and takes effect from the moment the manuscript is submitted, has the maximum duration allowed by applicable Portuguese or international law and is of worldwide scope. The authors further declare that this assignment is made free of charge. If the RPMGF informs the authors that it is not going to publish their manuscript, the exclusive assignment of rights ceases forthwith.
The authors authorise the RPMGF (or any entity it may appoint) to act on their behalf when it believes that copyright may have been infringed.
