Medicine and Email: Chances and Perils

Doc in the Mail

As email is has become more and more widespread it has also invaded the practices of physicians and specialists. But can email heal the only too often constipated communication channels between doctors and patients? Can it even be used in therapy? (I'm quite positive that the day will come when somebody proposes email as therapy -- with people suffering from social anxiety disorder, for example.)

These and similar questions pertaining to email in the field of medicine have been asked by researchers at the MIT and the Harvard Medical School. In an article that appeared in the September 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine they describe the status, chances and perils of medical email.

Let's have a look at what email can do to make, and keep us healthier.