Email is the Future of
Practice Communication—
Are You on Board?
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For Brooklyn, NY-based Park Slope Eye, email has become the main mode of communication. In fact, it’s how the practice even books appointments. If you call Park Slope Eye, patients will be directed to an online scheduler or to email the practice. Since all of the staff is accessible via email, the patient gets almost an immediate response. Justin Bazan, OD, the practice’s owner and regional director of Vision Source, says he’s found that patients prefer this form of communication. “It’s all there in black and white,” he says. “There’s no more ‘What were my benefits again? Or ‘When did you say my glasses would be in?’”
At Manhattan-based Park Avenue Laser Vision, email allows the practice to provide timely responses. “People want things right away—not tomorrow, not next week, but now,” says King M. Harrison, Perfect Vision LASEK coordinator at the practice. “[With email] we are able to communicate in a fashion that is ideal for our busy market. The world is so fast-paced and everyone is so busy. The more effective way to communicate is by email.”
Email has also allowed Park Avenue Laser Vision to keep their patients up to date. The practice tries to send out email updates twice a month. It’s been a means for advertising some of the promotions and activities taking place at the office, such as monthly seminars where the public is invited to come watch a live LASEK procedure.
But the practice wants to take their email efforts even further. Currently Park Avenue Laser Vision is considering a move to Constant Contact, one of many email marketing solutions out there. “It’s a trusted service with a history of providing timely, legitimate email correspondence to multiple industries,” says Harrison. “By using Constant Contact, we feel we will be able to reach our patients efficiently and effectively, all the while respecting their space and not having them mistake us for SPAM.”
Privacy and Security
One of the considerations to keep in mind when using email is the patient’s security and privacy. It’s important that information transmitted via email remain safe. Tony Sterrett, practice administrator for Price Vision Group in Indianapolis, Ind., says that the practice takes these concerns seriously—occasionally even more so than patients do. “We sometimes get general questions posted to us through our Facebook page but because of HIPAA concerns, we do not answer their questions publicly,” explains Sterrett. “Those people are directed to call our office.”
When it comes to email, Sterrett says the same precautions are taken. The practice uses an encrypted email service. “We recognize that many people prefer to communicate via email, but it is imperative to follow HIPAA regulations,” he says. “The only acceptable way to use email is if the communication is encrypted. We use a patient portal which can be accessed through our website. The patient clicks an ‘Online Clinic’ button on our main webpage and creates an account. Then they login and ask their question. Our portal also allows patients to enter their medical history, demographic information, chief complaint, medication list and insurance information. Certain staff members in our practice receive notification emails letting us know we have a request. We login to our account to read the message. It is a safe system but does add a step to the flow of communication.”
Sterrett says there are a variety of options on the market for practices seeking a patient portal with encrypted email. Price Vision Group utilizes a product by Sophrona. Sterrett says that encryption essentially works by “locking” information so that only authorized individuals can access it. “By creating an account the patient uses a unique ‘key’ that only we can decode,” he explains. “That way, in the unlikely event that a message in intercepted, it cannot be read by anyone other than that particular patient and our practice. If there are practices who are still communicating through standard email, it is only a matter of time before they have an unfortunate information leak.”
The Way of the Future
As more practices move toward emailing, there are some benefits to be discovered. For one, Bazan says that using email as the primary mode of communication has eliminated the need for a person dedicated to answering the phones. That’s been a big time savings for the practice. And it’s also helped cut down on the practice’s “no show rate.” “We email our patients once they make the appointment which allows them to automatically add it to their iCal calendar [or other online application],” says Bazan.
Harrison also feels that email helps keep the practice on the cutting edge. He believes that practices that refuse to adopt new technologies are eventually going to become obsolete and that it’s important to embrace the same technology that patients are using. “Society has moved into an electronic age and communication has to be quick and efficient,” he says. “Email is the most efficient way to get information to our patients and they appreciate being updated in real time.”
While there are certainly some important considerations to bear before using email as a primary form of communication, there isn’t much doubt that its usage will only continue to grow. Still, it won’t replace the need for human interaction and face-to-face time at the office. “I think it is inevitable that practices will need to adopt email as one form of communication with their patients—but not the only form,” says Sterrett. “Obviously it will never replace a face-to-face visit with a doctor. Physicians or their representatives should be wary of dispensing medical opinions without stating that the patient should come in for an examination to confirm their diagnosis. There is also a customer service aspect. People will reward practices who offer encrypted communication by going into the practice and becoming patients. In many cases it is the beginning of the doctor/patient relationship. When they eventually take action, they’ll go where they feel welcome and appreciated.”
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