HIPAA Blog

[ Thursday, April 14, 2005 ]

 

Doctors and email: According to the Chicago Tribune, "Despite advancing technology, medical practices have proven remarkably resistant to embracing e-mail as a tool to correspond with patients." It makes some sense, since doctors may be slightly more resistant than other professionals to any change from the way they've done things in the past (if their patients have lived with what they did to them previously, why risk that success?), but it's also counterintuitive in that doctors tend to be technology-adapters. Perhaps physicians like technology when they can use it on their side of the patient-encounter fence, but don't like anything that messes with that fence.

Doctors certainly use email to communicate with other doctors and their accountants and lawyers. Communications with patients has certain perils that don't apply to communications with others.

Jeff [10:11 AM]

Comments: Post a Comment
http://www.blogger.com/template-edit.g?blogID=3380636 Blogger: HIPAA Blog - Edit your Template