![]() "Over the last few years we've realized that telecommunications is a health issue," Donovan says, adding that the ability to email doctors was transformative for many patients: "Sometimes patients don't have the energy to make that phone call, let alone come into the office." Plus there are people who live hours away from their doctors.ĭonovan hopes the ability to email doctors can remain in place, without adding major costs to patients: "We're balancing both this need to rapidly expand access and to really entice providers to make it part of their practice, with trying to make sure that it is accessible and affordable for patients."Įve Rittenberg, a primary care doctor and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, also wants a system that supports the relationship between doctors and patients. She represents patients who are chronically ill, or live in rural areas. In short, there's still no business model to support the realities of how patients and providers now talk to each other.īut Caitlin Donovan, senior director of the nonprofit National Patient Advocate Foundation, says finding one is essential. Plus, doctors don't want to alienate patients by charging them for communicating. "Uptake has not been super high amongst our clinician workforce," Holmgren says, in part because billing for messages itself is complex and time consuming. The fees led to slight declines of about 2% in the number of messages. And the move to charge for them did not cut down on email volume. His research shows doctors only bill for a tiny fraction of messages - about 3%. In actuality, however, he says the new charges have not solved either of those problems. Holmgren says the goal of charging for these messages was both to reimburse doctors, and discourage patients from excessive emailing. Such charges are generally covered by Medicare and Medicaid, as well as most private insurance, though patients may bear co-pays, ranging from $5 to $75, depending on the type of plan. Many hospitals and health systems, from Johns Hopkins to Houston Methodist and Cleveland Clinic to Veterans Affairs, now charge patients who receive clinical advice through messages. Shots - Health News Post-pandemic, even hospital care goes remote That compounded stress for doctors already dealing with a pandemic, then responding to emails after hours, essentially working for free. ![]() Even after lockdowns ended, doctors were fielding over 50% more patient messages than before, he notes in a research letter published in the JAMA. Holmgren tracked how doctors spent more time during the pandemic managing electronic health records. Now, some patients are getting billed by hospitals or health systems for some responses to their message queries. Patients love that direct contact with their doctors - so much so their messages are overwhelming doctors' inboxes. "When you wanted to get a Zoom visit or an audio visit, you needed to sign up for the patient portal, and I think a lot of people became aware that they could message for the first time" during the pandemic, says A Jay Holmgren, a researcher in health care information technology at the University of California San Francisco. ![]() But the sudden, rapid expansion of telehealth means patients generally can now text or email their health care providers. If you wanted to talk with your doctor before the pandemic, you generally had to schedule an in-person appointment. Jose carlos cerdeno martinez/Getty Images Doctors are starting to face a flood of message from patients and some health care companies are billing for clinical advice delivered this way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |