Patient Health can be Improved by Exchanging Emails With Doctors: Survey

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Some people may find it ridiculous when told that keeping a constant communication with your doctor through email can improve one's health.

As crazy as it may sound, a new Kaiser Permanente study actually showed that a third of patients that were going through chronic conditions said that their health improved dramatically when exchanging secure email messages to their doctors.

Being one of the country's largest health care providers, Kaiser confirmed the new research published today in the American Journal of Managed Care.

A staff scientist from Kaiser Permanente and research lead author, Mary E. Reed, DrPH said: "We found that a large proportion of patients used email as their first method of contacting health care providers across a variety of health-related concerns."

"As more patients gain access to online portal tools associated with electronic health records, emails between patients and providers may shift the way that health care is delivered and also impact efficiency, quality and health outcomes," she added in a report relayed by Science Codex.

The doctor also stated that the ability of patients to send an email message to doctors "is really a patient centered tool, a way to engage patients in accessing health care providers."

DotMed informed that doctors would really want to know if patients are taking advantage of the tools. They also want to find out if this new discovery is really "affecting their health care experience and health" in a positive way, a statement by Dr. Reed read.

To arrive at their findings, the research team surveyed 1,041 Kaiser Permanente's patients who are currently experiencing chronic illness such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, asthma, congestive heart failure and hypertension.

There were patients included in the survey who send email messages to their doctors through My Health Manager, which is the healthcare provider's online patient page. Other patients decided not to use the online portal and just talk to their physicians personally during their scheduled appointments.

The result was an overwhelming success as 32 percent of the patients included in the survey said that the continuous communication between them and their doctors through email messaging improved their overall health while 67 percent said that it did not affect their condition positively. However, only one percent of the patients claimed that exchanging email messages with the doctors made their existing illness worse, as reported by the DotMeD.

Sending direct email messages is the best way to continue treatment while you are at home or away for a vacation. Patients at Kaiser Permanente would certainly agree as 20 million secure email messages were sent from their patients to their providers in 2014 alone.