As marketers, we try our best to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to social media, its tools and its practices, and we do our best to communicate the advantages of a strong online presence to our clients and our bosses. In healthcare, we often take for granted how the Web is being used by consumers. Sixty-one percent of American adults use sites such as WebMD to find healthcare information, surgeons tweet from the OR to update concerned family members, and “e-patient” is a term with its own Wikipedia entry.
So imagine my surprise when I came across this article from Healthcare IT News on “ePediatrics.” This article references two surveys, each concerning trends in the desire and ability of parents to communicate electronically with their children’s doctors. The first poll, conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Knowledge Networks, reports that approximately 50 percent of parents believe e-mail or online communication would be useful for tasks such as requesting prescription refills or medical records. However, the same poll reports that less than 15 percent of parents are currently able to communicate online with their children’s healthcare providers. In a similar study by Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, 90 percent of parents said they would like to be able to e-mail their pediatrician, but only 11 percent can currently do so.
Healthcare providers have two main concerns when it comes to electronic communication. The first is reimbursement for electronic services that require staff time. A doctor’s office, after all, is a business. While e-mail seems quick and easy, from the doctor’s perspective, it can be tantamount to a free consultation, as many insurers will not pay a doctor for these virtual visits. This trend is beginning to be reversed, however, led by Aetna and Cigna, who in 2008 began reimbursing doctors for online consultations. As a result of this, services have been developed to help the doctor manage the virtual appointment process, and the fees charged by these companies are paid for by the patient.
The second concern shared by many healthcare providers is that an online consultation or e-mail response is not an adequate substitution for a doctor examining a patient in person. This concern extends to the possibility that doctors who provide advice through e-mail could face medical liability if that information is inaccurate or lacks the standard of quality that their patients have come to expect.
While I am sensitive to these concerns, I believe that there can be compromise when it comes to a patient or a parent being able to communicate with a doctor over the Internet. If policies are put into place with strict guidelines for what activities may take place via e-mail and other electronic communication, providers can work to alleviate these concerns, instead of feeling pressured to engage in an activity that they aren’t comfortable with. As consumers, we need to demand the ability to communicate electronically with our doctors, and the insurance industry needs to recognize the importance of this in improving healthcare delivery, maintaining accountability and controlling costs. Personally, I would love to see a deadline for the meaningful use of e-mail, to go along with the deadline for EHR’s.
