E-mail in patient-provider communication: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To review systematically the role of e-mails in patient-provider communication in terms of e-mail content, and perspectives of providers and patients on e-mail communication in health care. METHODS A systematic review of studies on e-mail communication between patients and health providers in regular health care published from 2000 to 2008. RESULTS A total of 24 studies were included in the review. Among these studies, 21 studies examined e-mail communication between patients and providers, and three studies examined the e-mail communication between parents of patients in pediatric primary care and pediatricians. In the content analyses of e-mail messages, topics well represented were medical information exchange, medical condition or update, medication information, and subspecialty evaluation. A number of personal and institutional features were associated with the likelihood of e-mail use between patients and providers. While benefits of e-mails in enhancing communication were recognized by both patients and providers, concerns about confidentiality and security were also expressed. CONCLUSION The e-mail is transforming the relationship between patients and providers. The rigorous exploration of pros and cons of electronic interaction in health care settings will help make e-mail communication a more powerful, mutually beneficial health care provision tool. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS It is important to develop an electronic communication system for the clinical practice that can address a range of concerns. More efforts need to be made to educate patients and providers to appropriately and effectively use e-mail for communication.

[1]  Daniel Z. Sands,et al.  Experiences of Physicians Who Frequently Use E-Mail With Patients , 2003, Health communication.

[2]  D. Ford,et al.  Experiences of patients who were early adopters of electronic communication with their physician: satisfaction, benefits, and concerns. , 2004, The American journal of managed care.

[3]  S. Clarke,et al.  Head and neck cancer patient and family member interest in and use of E‐mail to communicate with clinicians , 2005, Head & neck.

[4]  S N Forjuoh,et al.  E-mail communications in family practice: what do patients expect? , 2001, The Journal of family practice.

[5]  Katrina M. Krause,et al.  Use of email in a family practice setting: opportunities and challenges in patient- and physician-initiated communication , 2006, BMC medicine.

[6]  Ellen M A Smets,et al.  Patient participation in the medical specialist encounter: does physicians' patient-centred communication matter? , 2007, Patient education and counseling.

[7]  Kenneth Mandl,et al.  Electronic Patient-Physician Communication: Problems and Promise , 1998, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[8]  Ngaire Kerse,et al.  Physician-Patient Relationship and Medication Compliance: A Primary Care Investigation , 2004, The Annals of Family Medicine.

[9]  Ken Masters,et al.  For what purpose and reasons do doctors use the Internet: A systematic review , 2008, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[10]  C. Katzen,et al.  E-mail and oncology: a survey of radiation oncology patients and their attitudes to a new generation of health communication , 2005, Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.

[11]  C Kent Kwoh,et al.  Patient-Physician E-mail: An Opportunity to Transform Pediatric Health Care Delivery , 2007, Pediatrics.

[12]  Rachel Akers,et al.  Parent and physician attitudes regarding electronic communication in pediatric practices. , 2002, Pediatrics.

[13]  Daniel Z. Sands,et al.  Can E-Mail Messages Between Patients and Physicians Be Patient-Centered? , 2008, Health communication.

[14]  N. Menachemi,et al.  Physicians’ Use of Email With Patients: Factors Influencing Electronic Communication and Adherence to Best Practices , 2006, Journal of medical Internet research.

[15]  R. Gerstle.  E-mail communication between pediatricians and their patients. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[16]  J. De La Torre,et al.  Physician-patient communication: a study on the observed behaviours of specialty physicians and the ways their patients perceive them. , 2006, Patient education and counseling.

[17]  David T. Stern,et al.  Research Paper: A Content Analysis of E-mail Communication between Patients and Their Providers: Patients Get the Message , 2004, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[18]  David W. Bates,et al.  Opportunities to enhance patient and physician e-mail contact , 2003, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[19]  T. Houston,et al.  Patient Access to U.S. Physicians Who Conduct Internet or E-mail Consults , 2007, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[20]  Barak Gaster,et al.  Physicians’ use of and attitudes toward electronic mail for patient communication , 2003, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[21]  Bruce Koehler,et al.  E-mail communications in primary care: what are patients' expectations for specific test results? , 2005, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[22]  Richard W. Grant,et al.  Prevalence of basic information technology use by U.S. physicians , 2006, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[23]  S. Clarke,et al.  Surgeons' and nurses' use of e‐mail communication with head and neck cancer patients , 2005, Head & neck.

[24]  D. Ford,et al.  Doctors Who Are Using E-mail With Their Patients: a Qualitative Exploration , 2003, Journal of medical Internet research.

[25]  Brian Hazlehurst,et al.  A survey of patient-provider e-mail communication: what do patients think? , 2001, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[26]  Mohan J. Dutta-Bergman.  The Relation Between Health-Orientation, Provider-Patient Communication, and Satisfaction: An Individual-Difference Approach , 2005, Health communication.

[27]  Dean F. Sittig.  Bmc Medical Informatics and Decision Making Results of a Content Analysis of Electronic Messages (email) Sent between Patients and Their Physicians , 2022 .

[28]  Howard Bauchner,et al.  A Content Analysis of E-mail Communication Between Primary Care Providers and Parents , 2005, Pediatrics.

[29]  Steven J Katz,et al.  Effect of a triage-based e-mail system on clinic resource use and patient and physician satisfaction in primary care , 2003, Journal of general internal medicine.

[30]  John P. Mullooly,et al.  Physician-Patient Communication: The Relationship With Malpractice Claims Among Primary Care Physicians and Surgeons , 1997 .

[31]  Steven J Katz,et al.  Bridging the electronic divide: patient and provider perspectives on e-mail communication in primary care. , 2002, The American journal of managed care.

[32]  T. Bodenheimer,et al.  Electronic technology: a spark to revitalize primary care? , 2003, JAMA.

[33]  M. Stewart.  Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. , 1995, CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne.

[34]  Anne F. Kittler,et al.  Primary care physician attitudes towards using a secure web-based portal designed to facilitate electronic communication with patients. , 2004, Informatics in primary care.

[35]  S. L. Leong,et al.  Enhancing doctor-patient communication using email: a pilot study. , 2005, The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice.