The doctor is in and logged on - Los Angeles Times: " E-mail can be as useful as a stethoscope in diagnosing, and electronic medical records are for the better.
By Dr Rahul Parikh|July 20, 2009
Wow. I've just taken care of three patients in 12 minutes, and I didn't do it by 'churning' them through my office as if it's some sort of factory assembly line. Rather, those patients (their parents, more specifically -- I'm a pediatrician), e-mailed me over a secure network with questions and descriptions of signs and symptoms.
One mother attached a digital photo of a rash on her 3-month-old daughter's face; it turned out be nothing more serious than baby acne (it'll go away in a month or so). Another mom had noticed that her son was missing one of his pre-kindergarten immunizations (she had pulled up his shot records online) and requested that I order it. And the father of a 5-month-old boy told me that his son has been constipated off and on for the last month. I e-mailed him a questionnaire so I could determine whether the family should try something at home or bring the child to the office."
This is a win-win situation - for both doctors and patients; and works extremely well for IVF specialists like me. I tell all my patients to email me, rather than phone me - and this saves both them and me a lot of time, money and energy !
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