Comments on: Doctors and e-mail http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/doctors-and-e-mail.html medical blog Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:18:41 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/doctors-and-e-mail.html/comment-page-1#comment-85224 Anonymous Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:32:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/04/doctors-and-e-mail.html#comment-85224 Yes, it is too much to ask. You can ask but . . . <br/><br/>1. Some aren't going to be patient<br/><br/>2. Some are going to argue no matter what you say.<br/><br/>3. Your desire to be reimbursed fairly will not make it happen. You would have to demand it, bill for it, collect agressively, and swim upstream against expectations.<br/><br/>4. The insurance companies don't own your practice and aren't responsible for your capital expenditures. Their only obligation is to their enrollees to cover your fees and it is your fees that are to fund your capitial upgrades.<br/><br/>5. You can get the patient to sign a waiver of confidentiality liability but you will have no gurantee that you would no be sued anyway and that it would then protect you.<br/><br/>One of the burdens of medicine in general and primary care specifically is that you have conditioned people to expect you to give give give all kinds of services and time while taking whatever insurance pays acting as a sort of insurance company service center rather than an independent professional. They are unfair expectations but you have been the primary culprit in creating them. Yes, it is too much to ask. You can ask but . . .

1. Some aren’t going to be patient

2. Some are going to argue no matter what you say.

3. Your desire to be reimbursed fairly will not make it happen. You would have to demand it, bill for it, collect agressively, and swim upstream against expectations.

4. The insurance companies don’t own your practice and aren’t responsible for your capital expenditures. Their only obligation is to their enrollees to cover your fees and it is your fees that are to fund your capitial upgrades.

5. You can get the patient to sign a waiver of confidentiality liability but you will have no gurantee that you would no be sued anyway and that it would then protect you.

One of the burdens of medicine in general and primary care specifically is that you have conditioned people to expect you to give give give all kinds of services and time while taking whatever insurance pays acting as a sort of insurance company service center rather than an independent professional. They are unfair expectations but you have been the primary culprit in creating them.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/doctors-and-e-mail.html/comment-page-1#comment-85213 Anonymous Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:06:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/04/doctors-and-e-mail.html#comment-85213 As a family practitioner, I am ok with the concept of email communication with patients under the following conditions:<br/>1. I want patients to be patient awaiting a response<br/>2. I want patients to not argue if my response is "you need to come in."<br/>3. I want to be fairly reimbursed at the same rate as if I had the patient come in.<br/>4. I want the "set up" to be subsidized by the insurance companies<br/>5. I want to be immune from any alleged confidentiality violations.<br/><br/>Is that too much to ask? If the answer is yes, then that explains quite clearly why more doctors have not embraced email. As a family practitioner, I am ok with the concept of email communication with patients under the following conditions:
1. I want patients to be patient awaiting a response
2. I want patients to not argue if my response is “you need to come in.”
3. I want to be fairly reimbursed at the same rate as if I had the patient come in.
4. I want the “set up” to be subsidized by the insurance companies
5. I want to be immune from any alleged confidentiality violations.

Is that too much to ask? If the answer is yes, then that explains quite clearly why more doctors have not embraced email.

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