Re: Would patients like to be able to email their doctors?

From: Howard McCollister (nospam_at_nospam.net)
Date: 12/11/04 

Date: 10 Dec 2004 23:44:04 -0600

"Josh" <jumbehr@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1102740478.490457.270990@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Thank you very much Mr. Gregory and Mr. McCollister for replying.
>
> Carey, you make a good point, why pay for the simple stuff when its
> free on a phone. Well, possibly convience b/c most dr's office are so
> inefficient its hard to get to a real person/nurse/dr. And then there
> are the security concerns. Your suggestion about a secure
> system/network is actually how it would be set up. If i can emai the
> irs, my bank, or my credit cards and get personal info sent back to me,
> then I think we can work out the security kinks.
>
> Howard, the benefit in emails isn't really in the simple stuff like
> billing and scheduling. In fact, there are a large number of medical
> problems that can be sovled via emails. We had a doctor from portland
> oregon come and speak to our school about how he set his email system
> in conjunction w/ his malpractice carrier. They loved it so much they
> lowered his premiums b/c they felt it was better, safer care w/ great
> record keeping. He was vague on the price, but suggested he charged
> near $100/yr for an individual and $200/yr for a family and was making
> in the ballpark of 200k /yr from this alone. His malpractice carrier
> especially like how well it service pts w/ anxiety b/c they were able
> to communicate w/ their drs w/o the stress of coming to the office.
> Also, adults taking care of the elderly parents were able to have an
> open line of communication w/ their FP. Another physician in minnesota
> charges 1500/yr/person with it capped @ 300 pts = 450k. He then is
> able to only work the mornings and responds to emails during the
> afternoon.
>
> Also, by having simpler questions / cases taken care of via email,
> there is more time per pt that is in the office w/ more serious
> problems. But, if these docs don't feel they can appropriately treat
> the case via email, they ask the pt to come in. Its the best of both
> worlds.
>

Uh huh. Fascinating. I am always interested to hear a medical student's
opinions on how I can solve medical problems. Perhaps you don't see the
joke...I doubt that you've ever solved a medical problem in your life, yet.

What you will ultimately learn, grasshopper, is that medical practices are
hugely variable. Those variations depend on the specialty, the location, the
patient population, state regulations, federal regulations, costs, a
thousand other things. There is a very wide variety of practice paradigms
emerging, all based on some form of electronic communication. Some are less
sophisticated than what you propose, some are far more elegant. Medical
practice is in the process of sorting it all out now. The crude examples you
provide above may work for some physicians, not for most. The rest of us are
waiting for something better. Don't worry, that killer app is right around
the corner.

Keep it all in mind when you start your own practice, or are finally in a
position to influence the practice you join. Being exposed to this kind of
stuff is an important part of your education. Just don't make the mistake of
locking yourself into small thinking, as your enthusiastic lecturing on
these particular examples tends to suggest you have.

HMc

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