Show #459 Airing Sunday 12/21/08
Remember the good ole days when doctors made house calls? Guess what? Those good ole days can return again – 21st century stile. Today, your doctor can come “chat” at your bedside – via email.
Question: Doctors don't seem to have much time to spend with their patients these days, do they?
Answer: No. In fact, that’s because of the way doctors get paid by insurance and government programs.
But communication is very important. Doctors and patients need to find ways to make this happen.
Question: Can you give us examples when communication with your doctor is important?
Answer:
- A patient wondering why her cold is not getting better.
- A follow up to a recent visit.
- Suffering from certain symptoms: do you have to come in?
Question: How can patients make sure they are communicating with their doctors?
Answer: At Kaiser, we use email a lot. Patients have access through Kaiser to a secure email site. They need to create a password. They need to sign up for the service, which is free. The email they send goes directly to their doctor. It becomes part of their medical record.
Question: How quickly can a patient expect a response?
Answer: The patient will hear back from the doctor within 24 hours.
Question: How do patients feel about this?
Answer: It actually is a more personal way of connecting with your doctor. You are receiving a personal written response. It’s very freeing – much quicker than an appointment. The result is almost instantaneous. And for our Medicare-aged patients, who generally have more need for medical care, it’s a great way to take care of a question without yet another office visit.
Question: And what do you think about this kind of communication with patients? give us the doctor's perspective.
Answer: Doctors are checking their electronic “in basket” throughout the day. We receive x-rays, lab tests, etc. The email messages are a natural part of that. We check them throughout the day – between patients, at the end of the day – and we can respond to them almost immediately. It’s a great way to have direct contact with our patients. And, if we are out of the office or on vacation, we have another doctor answer the emails. There is no “out of office” automatic reply; a doctor will respond to you.
Today there’s no need to play cat and mouse with your doctors – they can be as close as the click of your computer’s mouse! For more information on this “type” of communication, call – or long on – to Kaiser. That information is next. My thanks to Dr. Alfes for being here – in person!
