The use of personal contact information for patient communication in ophthalmology

Abstract

Purpose

To determine rates of personal communication between patients and ophthalmologists.

Design

This was a cross-sectional study assessing ophthalmologists’ electronic communication practices with patients in 2021.

Methods

An online survey was distributed to a convenience sample of ophthalmologists through an ophthalmology email listserv in the United States.

Results

Of 92 respondents, the average age was 55.2 (range: 32–86) and most were male (70.7 %) with >10 years of attending experience (81.5 %). Overall, 63.0 % of respondents shared their personal phone number or email address with patients, more frequently for post-operative patients (63.0 %) or patients with complications (52.2 %). Many respondents (55.4 %) did not discuss guidelines for using their personal email or phone number with patients and the majority (87.0 %) expressed little or no regret in sharing their contact information. Most ophthalmologists (76.1 %) endorsed reimbursement for extra time talking with patients outside of clinic appointments, while few (6.5 %) billed for their calls. Documentation of electronic encounters in the electronic medical record showed 44.6 % documenting most of the time and 30.4 % rarely documenting.

Conclusion

Many ophthalmologists share their personal email address or phone number with patients without setting guidelines for patients using them or properly documenting and billing for the electronic encounter. This suggests a need for improved accessibility of physicians through office phone numbers. Additionally, guidelines may be warranted to support ophthalmologists in documenting and billing for electronic communications for patient safety and medicolegal purposes.