I opened my email this morning and lo I received a notifier from a patient. The message simply said:
You have received a new message from JANE DOE. Login to MyOSCAR to view the message.
You can't click a link to open MyOSCAR. It's a safety feature to avoid phishing. But I have a bookmark for MyOSCAR so it's easy enough to open up another window (or a tab in the same browser). But I actually don't even have to do that because my EMR (OSCAR of course!) is fully integrated with MyOSCAR. So I simply go to my EMR and click the MyOSCAR tab (see the big red arrow):
I can see the new message(s) as well as the older messages I have left in my Inbox:
A glance at my Inbox revealed that I have received 12 messages this month so far. Not bad for a practice in which about 600 patients have been offered the MyOSCAR service.
Using my EMR to work with my patient's PHR makes it a lot easier to keep track of things. For example, the patient's message as well as my reply are automatically inserted into the patient's chart:
So when I see Jane next week I can review all that have happened leading up to that point.
I will describe more MyOSCAR features on my next post. But suffice to say that the secure messaging feature of MyOSCAR has become an indispensable tool for my patient care. I can deal with a lot of my patient's problems a lot sooner and at a much more convenient pace for both me and my patients. I am certain that my patients (the ones who use it anyways) really appreciate the improved access to getting help.
I have heard many objections from health care providers about letting patients send them electronic messages. Generally these are the common ones:
(1) I will be flooded with messages and where do I find the time
My answer to that is that my experience has been the opposite. Let's say this month I received 12 messages out of 600 patients. That's about 2 messages per 100 patients per month, or about 20 per 1000 patients which is the average size practice. I am sure I have saved at least a few physical visits (or phone messages) and when I actually see these patients in my office, the visit will be shorter and of better quality since so much of the needed information have already been communicated. And I can do my work without the constraint of my office schedule! And no more phone tags!
(2) I am afraid of the legal consequences since conversation will be on black and white!
My argument is that it is actually better to have everything documented. My correspondence tend to be more thoughtful and better prepared (like having looked up more information before I make a statement). I remember once being asked by a patient what she needed to do when she had to fly on a plane given that she was on a blood thinner. I actually looked things up and gave her an answer that I was more confident with. If she had come to my office and asked me the same question point blank, I would not be able to look things up, and would probably have given her an answer I was less confident with.
I am convinced that the future health care system will demand more online communication between patients and providers. It will provide better care, and hopefully improve health!
