July 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 7 |
Documentation. Jonathan Snider, M.D., of Hopkinton, Mass., sends himself a blind carbon copy of every patient e-mail, prints out what needs to go in the patient record and regularly backs up his e-mail system to guard against computer crashes. "This is the beauty of e-mail. You have a typed verbatim transcription of what actually transpired," he said.
Time. You can easily forward e-mail messages to the appropriate office staff, be it for billing or scheduling. "Those pink slips for messages fall through the cracks," said Snider. Another timesaver is sharing Web resources with patients. "I can e-mail a patient with borderline high cholesterol medically sound and appropriate online links in less than 15 seconds," said Snider.
Patient appeal. E-mail makes patients feel connected with him, said Snider. "They tell me over and over that they feel like I'm always there for them because they can write a note to me, even at three in the morning."
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2002 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.