Evidence Shows condition Benefits of Email Exchanges With Patients But Is This Right for Your Practice?

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There's been a lot of press recently about using email with patients to transfer medical facts for outpatient care purposes. Studies have shown that these consults, called web exchanges, lead to more efficient medicine and condition improvements for patients. A modern study by Kaiser Permanente reveals that these email exchanges can help patients stay on track with their treatments, which leads to principal condition benefits.

Historically, I've found that many practices have resisted these exchanges for a estimate of reasons. There are no ifs ands or buts benefits and drawbacks. So, what's best for your patients and your practice? How will the new federal law requiring physicians to create private, gain email networks for patients' effect you?

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There are a lot of benefits to the patient. For many questions, a quick email could replace a call into their doctor's office, a trip to the office, or even a visit to the crisis room after hours. Oftentimes, a outpatient may leave your office and later wants to simply ask, "How many times a day should I take this medication"? Patients appear to be best able to control their treatments and their condition by getting entrance to their doctor by email. This leads to both healthier patients and more satisfied patients because they're getting best service.

Evidence Shows condition Benefits of Email Exchanges With Patients But Is This Right for Your Practice?

Although many practices resist outpatient email exchanges because they comprehend it as more time consuming, it may no ifs ands or buts save you time and money. Certainly, a call into your office could be more time moving for you and your staff than an email exchange. There's the cost of labor hours for your staff and your time, and the cost of lower outpatient satisfaction if calls to a busy office are time-consuming for them because they go straight through a phone tree, they're placed on hold or they can't get to the right man for the facts and want a call back. Avoiding these frustrations can turn your patients into Raving Fans that refer others they know to your practice.

Even if you rule that you are not willing to have email exchanges with your patients, I would encourage you to gain each of your patients' email addresses in order that you can supply them principal facts for marketing purposes. Email blasts and outpatient newsletters delivered by email are very cost-effective because you avoid postage and printing connected with original direct mail. Patients can more no ifs ands or buts send these emails to those they know that effect in referrals. You can also track the results electronically, along with your email delivery rate, open rate, click-through rate to your web site, and the estimate of emails they send to others. The return-on-investment for email blasts is typically very high relative to other marketing efforts.

If you do allow email exchanges with patients in your practice, it won't be as uncomplicated as getting your patient's Gmail or Hotmail address because they aren't gain networks. Federal law will want physicians and many other healthcare providers to create private, gain email networks for patients by 2013. I encourage practices to have web sites with gain outpatient portals right away.

If you need help using email in your convention or you need help developing a gain web site for your practice, call me at 561-477-6348.

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