"Can I Just Email My Doctor?", Your Patient is Asking the Receptionist.
/90% of adult patients would like to communicate with their physician
via email. Unfortunately, only 20% of physicians use email to reply to
patients' questions.
There are two major problems:
-How to make sure that the communication is secure and HIPAA-compliant?
-How to bill for it?
Online Security
Medem (a for-profit network founded by AMA) has developed a physician-patient email system which is claimed to be secure.
Reimbursement
Blue
Cross/Blue Shield is one of the few insurers that pay for
patient-to-doctor emails. They call them "online visits" and the
reimbursement is $ 20.
