Emailing Patients? It Might Not Pay

Dr. Rob, the Healthcare Blogger, has an interesting essay up today about whether or not giving patients email access pays off in the end. The good doctor-blogger bases his thoughts on a recent report of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, which found that patients who email their docs go to 7 to 10 percent fewer office visits. That's good news for patients, of course, but not so good for the medical practices' bottom line. The report also found that patient phone calls to the practices decreased, which seems like even more of a mixed blessing.

Doctors who email patients remain a minority (less than 3 percent do so regularly, according to one study published in the Journal of Internet Research). We're thinking our Medical Center readers might be among the pioneers. Let us know! Do you email your patients? And is it helping or hindering your practice?