When Edward Soeder needed some medical paperwork from his doctor, Ravi S. Gill, recently, he didn't have to make a special trip to the Whipps Mill Road office, battle busy signals on the phone or even wade through a complicated voice-mail system. A quick e-mail to Gill's office got him the information he needed. He e-mailed me a response, and that was it. The potential of such services is alluring.
Online encounters are new to both patients and physicians.
And in some ways, they are a logical development, given the explosion of personal health information online and the desire by some physicians to provide guidance. At the same time, nearly half of physicians surveyed by Jupiter partner Cozint Interactive expressed interest in conducting e-mail dialogue with patients, Jupiter said. The list runs 11 pages and includes about 580 addresses. I don't see a very encouraging response. At 37, he wonders if older patients simply tend to be less plugged into the Internet.