News release: National

July 5 , 2007

For more information, contact:
Ravi Poorsina at 510-625-5593

Patients Eager to E-mail Their Doctors

New study highlights patients' attraction to online health management

Oakland, Calif. — Kaiser Permanente today released the largest study to date on how secure e-mail changes the way patients choose to access medical care.

Published in the American Journal of Managed Care, "Patient access to electronic health record with secure messaging: impact on primary care utilization" examines the use of secure e-mail between Kaiser Permanente members and physicians. The following are a few highlights:

Patients with online access to an electronic health record (EHR) are choosing to use secure e-mail, thereby decreasing the number of primary care office visits and telephone contact rates. This illustrates how web-based options are playing a larger role in doctor-patient interaction

The study showed that patients who use secure e-mail were 7 to 10 percent less likely to schedule an office visit, and about 14 percent fewer phone contacts than those not using online services

The study demonstrates that e-mail is more convenient and efficient for both the physician and patient for non-urgent concerns.

"The access to personal health management tools, including secure email is helping our members get care how and when they want it," states Yvonne Zhou, PhD, one of the authors of the study. "It is valuable to have been able to document an evolving trend that shows consumers are choosing to replace office visits and phone calls with electronic communication with their doctors."

More than 1.4 million Kaiser Permanente members are registered to use the secure online services on kp.org. Since launching secure e-mail services through the personal health record available on kp.org, more than 2.7 million e-mail messages have been sent to providers.

"E-mail provides a convenient and easy way for my patients to contact me, which is helping me to better meet their needs," states David E. Schmidt, MD, a Kaiser Permanente pediatrician in Portland, Oregon. "By not having to make an appointment, take time from work and come in each and every time they have a question, there is less of a communication barrier between us."

The study, in its entirety, can be accessed at:
http://www.ajmc.com/files/articlefiles/AJMC_07julyZhou_418to424.pdf

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice program headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 156,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and 13,000 physicians representing all specialties. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the KP News Center at: http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter.

www.kaiserpermanente.org

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