Would you e-mail your doctor?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24260074/

An article on doctors reluctance to e-mail/accept e-mail from patients.  Personally, I'd MUCH rather get an e-mail than talk to someone on the phone.  Because I either have to get a phone call at work or my doctor will leave a message for me to call on the machine at home and then I have to call from work--because I'm never at home when doctors' offices are open--and then you run the risk of everyone overhearing you.  I'd rather get an e-mail to my personal account reminding me of an appointment or telling me my bloodwork was fine--and have a return address (even just through a nurse) where I could request refills on my standard medicines or make an appointment.

Funny, in this age of practical cell phone implantation, I'm a phone phobe.  LOL.  How do others feel?  Maybe if more people said, hey, I want to be able to e-mail your office, more doctors would be cool with it.  Personally, I think it's less private to have to talk over a phone than to get an e-mail. 

I e-mail my doc all the time, but it's a slightly different relationship since he was one of my faculty members. What it comes down to is this: IF your doctor gives you his/her e-mail, it should be used sparingly, and NOT for any questions regarding new symptoms. It is absolutely vital that a physician see a patient in the office for an actual exam. I cannot stress this enough. No physician should EVER be doing phone consults with patients, prescribing medications, etc. over the phone unless there is some unique, dire circumstance.

Regarding the more logistical things like appointment scheduling, etc. I would say e-mailing the doctor's office regarding appointment times, etc. would be a nice, convenient thing sometimes.

I don't think that results of tests should ever be sent over e-mail.

<<Frankly I don't know how doctors really have time to read emails. My Doctor has said he is seldom on the computer as he is too tired by the time he gets thru for the day to even look on the computer.>>

The thing the article pointed out was that e-mail is actually faster for doctors than calling patients--which is something they have to do at no charge already.

But, I'm not really even interested in e-mailing my doctor; I'd just like to be able to e-mail the nurse. That's who I end up talking to on the phone, unless I'm making an appointment.

I don't have a problem with getting non-serious test results through e-mail. Just a "hey, bloodwork was fine." Shoot, the vast majority of the time I never get so much as a call or regular letter, so if e-mailing the all clear sign is more reliable, then I'm all for it. I'd not even care to get an e-mail like "Your bloodwork was fine, but your iron was a little on the low side. You might look into take a supplement and see if that makes you feel better." To me, that's not something that someone needs to tell me in person. Now, if the test results were something that needs prescription medicine invertention, or is something scary (like a diangosis of cancer or crohn's or something life-altering like that), then I would want to be called and talk to my doctor directly, or go in for a visit and find out in person. I'd want to be able to ask questions about new medicine orally, or I'd want bad news broken in person. But most people's labwork and test results are all clear, so why not get that in an e-mail?

I'm not paranoid about anyone getting my medical information via e-mail. I don't have anything wrong with me that I'd want to hide. But I can see people with AIDS or TB or something like that not wanting some people to know, and I think they certainly should not be made to get their medical information by e-mail. But, like I said, I feel more self-conscious talking about it over the phone, because I can only do it at work. And the number one dr. I have to really talk to and ask questions of is my gyno. That's embarrassing if anyone overhears!

Hey Keriamom - I didn't have time to read the article yet but I really wanted to email my doc for the same reason is you. I work in a law firm from 8:30-5 during the summer and do not have an office but rather my desk is in an open area with people passing through. The bathrooms are multi-stall and the lunch room has people going in and out. I was in a Crohns flare and trying new meds. My doc was more than happy to do check ins with me over the phone instead of in the office because there was nothing more he could do in person. But, I had no easy way to discuss my bowel movements with him at work. I ended up talking in a basement stairwell once, on the street corner once, and in the parking lot of a grocery store. I chose the street corner because I decided I would rather strangers here about my bowels than my coworkers. My doctor agreed that I could email the office and asked his receptionist to set it up for me. However, his office manager refused to allow it. Later, I read an article in our local bar journal about doctors being afraid of using email because of liability. Their concern wasn't so much privacy but rather it was a concrete record of everything the patient told the doctor and vice versa and could be used in malpractice hearings. What is in your record is from your doctors point of view, not the patients. With email it is like recording all your phone conversations or office visits. After his OM said no, he agreed to call me after 6, even if it meant he was calling me from his cell.