Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INFORMATICS
Volume 77, Issue 1, Pages 17-23Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2006.11.004
Keywords
e-health; eHealth; web messaging; patient-physician online communication
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Information technology can support the delivery of healthcare. Patients are eager to make use of such tools as web messaging, yet its deployment has been limited to date. A fear still pervades that the cost associated with a possible increase to physician workloads may outweigh any suggested benefits. Goal: This paper aims to review the body of research completed in the area of patient-physician web messaging. The findings of this review will then be assessed and synthesised, with the intention of creating an overview of both the benefits and costs of patient-physician online messaging. Areas of particular importance to future research may then be identified. Results: Demand and support for online communication tools amongst patients is strong, and can increase quality of care due to increased patient-physician communication. Although there would seem to be great potential to increase process efficiency, there would not seem to be sufficient evidence as of yet to suggest that this is the case. Conclusion: Further quantitative research in. particular is required to assess the impact of online communication, with special regard to the effect on overall patient demand and on healthcare process efficiency. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available