Consultation and counselling via email
Online posting: January 13, 1997
Published in print: Feb. 15, 1997 (CMAJ 1997;156:484)
Re: Psychiatrist says counselling via email may be yet another
medical use for Internet, by Cameron Johnston, Can Med Assoc
J 1996;155:1606-7 [full text / résumé]
This recent article suggests that counselling by email may
supplement office sessions between patient and psychiatrist.
I am a family physician who has recently obtained a few brief
email consultations from specialist colleagues. We have found
email to be a simple and convenient method of communication that
avoids intrusive telephone disruptions.
I sometimes need to confer with a specialist to determine whether
referral of a patient is necessary, to receive management advice
or to ask a question about a specific topic. This usually leads
to telephone tag or interrupts the specialist at a clinic. The
same information can be exchanged more conveniently by email,
and all of the advantages mentioned in Cameron Johnston's article
can apply to the family physician–specialist interaction too.
Consulting physicians can gather and present information or ask
questions concisely and accurately. Consultants can review this
information at their convenience and reply quickly. Information
can be exchanged without identifying a patient by name,
preserving confidentiality. Family physicians can then pursue
further investigation or treatment, or refer patients if needed.
When appropriate, a copy of the correspondence can be filed with
the patient's chart or included with the consultation referral
letter.
This process does not replace referrals. It corresponds to a
telephone inquiry or a quick corridor consultation and may allow
more convenient and more specific transfer of information and
advice with less disruption for both the consulting physician and
the specialist. Of course, specialists have to agree to this type
of correspondence and have to read their email regularly.
Perhaps a list of local specialists willing to offer advice this
way would encourage more family physicians to use email. If more
people used it, it could save both time and unnecessary
referrals.
John A Geddes, MSc, MD
Kingston, Ont.
geddesj@post.queensu.c
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