froggyscraps
Full Member
Posts: 171
Jun 26, 2014 0:43:39 GMT
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Post by froggyscraps on Apr 21, 2016 9:52:21 GMT
Do most of you correspond with your Dr this way? Do they ask you to call or e-mail?
My primary is awesome and we shoot quick emails back and forth and it's really helpful instead of playing phone tag all day for minor issues. This is what I think the email portion of patient portals is for, correct?
However, I just wrote out this long email to my specialist and now I'm kinda regretting it because I sort of poured my heart out. I've been seeing him for quite a while, so I feel quite comfortable with him. He said to call with an update, but I felt like writing it all out was easier for me to make sure I said everything I wanted to, but I think I went overboard. I just knew if I called there wouldn't have been enough time to address everything and then like always I would've thought of other things I should've mentioned. It's not an emergency at all, otherwise I would've called for sure.
I either heard or read somewhere that you're supposed to just write quick things and not huge long paragraphs or the Dr can get irritated and not correspond with you over email anymore. However, Drs are just regular people at work too and other professions get emails to deal with too. (I'm not worded this correctly, but I hope someone understands what I'm trying to say).
I guess I'm just feeling stupid now and wondering how others correspond with their doctors.
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Post by dealsamongus on Apr 21, 2016 9:56:19 GMT
Generally i call because my doctor is awful at checking her email (by her own admission).
I would love to correspond via email though!
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Post by Patter on Apr 21, 2016 10:31:20 GMT
We do most of our correspondence through the portal. However, we also text because of my daughter's health issues. I try not to get too lengthy on the portal but I have never heard I shouldn't. I only do it because he is BUSY (up at 4 a.m. answering messages, calling late at 8 p.m., etc.). I know his family, and he needs time with them so I try to be respectful of that. That's the only reason I am short on portal messages. He has more patients than us.  But I don't think your GP would not answer anymore because of it. If it bothered your GP, I would think he would just ask you not to do it anymore. I can't imagine it being a bad thing especially since he asked you for an update. |
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keithurbanlovinpea
Pearl Clutcher
Flowing with the go...
Posts: 4,301 
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Apr 21, 2016 11:38:32 GMT
I mainly use the portal [which the NP monitors but consults the doctor]. I have never heard keep it short, but our portal is weird and doesn't let me see the full message once it is long enough to start scrolling so it is hard to proofread. I also know that my doctor would want me to come in and discuss lengthy issues with him in person, but since he doesn't take insurance and I pay his $$$ out of pocket, he gives me all the time in the world for appointments.
I think if this is a specialist and there are real issues going on, it can't have hurt to put it on paper. I would go back into the message and pull out the main points and be ready for a phone call. Then you can zero in on the actual topics and not get bogged down in the emotion that surrounds it. Make sense?
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,091
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Apr 21, 2016 11:57:29 GMT
I use it. Sometimes long, sometimes short.
If you truly regret it, you may have the option to delete. We do.
You should be aware that those become part of your patient record.
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Post by peano on Apr 21, 2016 12:01:32 GMT
I just now finished sending an email response to my doctor's nurse. This is the first time I've used the portal and it was a frustrating experience because it wasn't taking my sign-up yesterday; today it went through.
I don't love the portal because historically, my doctor has called me to report lab results and other issues. She's even called me with results when she's away at medical conferences, which I really appreciated, and is another reason why I love her. Speaking to her directly, obviously I got much more information. Today on the portal it was just "your blah-blah results are normal". But I realize she's busy, and my last appointment, she mentioned being frustrated by how much time she devotes to administrative issues. I've always admired how much time she devotes to direct patient care; I never feel rushed and she is very thorough. I guess it's just the way things are going. Sigh.
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Post by MichyM on Apr 21, 2016 14:00:06 GMT
I use the portal and I love it. No more worrying about missing calls etc. I keep mine short and sweet, however I'd have no problem sending a longer message if it was necessary.
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,535
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Post by RosieKat on Apr 21, 2016 14:22:38 GMT
Our portal doesn't allow a lot of characters, so the email function is a challenge. Recently they used it to email me a questionnaire that had to be filled out to get a particular med refill for DS, but there weren't enough characters available to be able to answer it!
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Post by scrapmaven on Apr 21, 2016 14:29:53 GMT
I love being able to email my doctors. Generally, I only email my internist and try and keep it short and to the point. Once in a while I'll get random email from her if she's thought of something that concerns her or she has an idea.
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Post by utmr on Apr 21, 2016 14:53:07 GMT
I like it but only use it for short things. "Do you have the X lab results yet?" Or "You said to let you know if drug A didn't work and you would switch to B. Please send the Rx for B to ABC pharmacy."
I don't think I'd be comfortable using it for anything lengthy or complicated.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 21, 2016 15:04:23 GMT
I would much rather use the portal than play telephone tag with a doctor (or nurse). I like that I can write it all down and read through it to make sure I'm not forgetting something I was meaning to ask before I hit send, and she/he can respond at their convenience. I like the written replies better too, because important information doesn't get lost, glossed over or forgotten and I can refer back to it later if I wasn't sure about something.
I haven't ever seen anything anywhere that said that type of correspondence should be brief. I figure it will take the doctor less time to read even a lengthy email and quickly shoot a reply back addressing my issues than it would be to sit there while I try to remember everything I wanted to ask about over the phone.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Apr 22, 2016 0:16:27 GMT
I love our email portal. I always hated calling because I always had to leave a message for the nurses and I always worried about what number to leave-- they typically liked to call in the 20 minutes I was driving home, no matter when those 20 minutes were. I think they probably like it a lot more than you think, even if you are long winded. They get a minute to check the chart and have it handy. In my case, the nurse or PA answers, I'm sure they've consulted with the doctor, but it's possible someone will filter it for the doc anyhow.
Our text box has a character limit... I feel like it's 10,000 words though. Maybe 5000. Some number I've never needed in its entirety.
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Post by scrapsuzy on Apr 22, 2016 0:28:10 GMT
I don't use the patient portal for communicating with my doctors, but do like being able to get test results quickly, and to look and previous results easily.
I text with my primary care doctor at least once a week. Love being able to do that.
As for the long email thing? I think it is a good rule for email, period, to keep it somewhat short. Sometimes longer can't be avoided, but shorter is almost always better, IMNSHO.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,452
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Apr 22, 2016 0:31:10 GMT
I love that my medical group has a portal. Last year I had to switch my primary (she retired) and my new primary is young (yay!) and at my initial meeting she said she prefers quick questions via the portal rather than trying to catch people for a return phone call. I also contact my derm, and my sleep doc through the portal for quick questions. But I only use it for one or two questions about something I've recently been in for. If it's a new issue or longer than a couple of lines, I make an appointment and go in the office.
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froggyscraps
Full Member
Posts: 171
Jun 26, 2014 0:43:39 GMT
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Post by froggyscraps on Apr 22, 2016 3:47:42 GMT
Thank you all so much for your answers and advice. I truly appreciate it and am feeling much better about it now, what's done is done and it all needed to be said anyway. He's the one who asked me to check in before the next appt anyway and he knows it's difficult to get in to see him.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 22, 2016 14:59:06 GMT
I love that my medical group has a portal. Last year I had to switch my primary (she retired) and my new primary is young (yay!) and at my initial meeting she said she prefers quick questions via the portal rather than trying to catch people for a return phone call. I also contact my derm, and my sleep doc through the portal for quick questions. But I only use it for one or two questions about something I've recently been in for. If it's a new issue or longer than a couple of lines, I make an appointment and go in the office.If it was a new issue that I needed to be seen for, I would go in. But I have a high deductible insurance plan so going in costs me about $250 out of pocket (closer to $300 for urgent care). That just isn't happening if I can send an email to find out what I need to know about a current issue the doctor should already be pretty familiar with. To me that's what the portal is for, saving them time to be with the patients who really need to be seen and saving me money when all I have are a couple of questions. |
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,815
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on Apr 22, 2016 15:05:52 GMT
I use the portal almost exclusively but only for minor things. My doctor is the worst at checking, but he only has clinic 1/2 a day, once a week since most of his time is spent at the medical school. I mainly see my NP, and she is awesome. I send her my numbers, and she emails me my medication adjustments. It's so nice not having to make an appointment.
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But I don't think your GP would not answer anymore because of it. If it bothered your GP, I would think he would just ask you not to do it anymore. I can't imagine it being a bad thing especially since he asked you for an update.
