TY - JOUR T1 - Two-minute consultation: e-mail JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 642 LP - 643 VL - 55 IS - 517 AU - Ron Neville Y1 - 2005/08/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/517/642.abstract N2 - Doctors complain they do not have enough time. Patients complain about difficulty of access to GP services. E-mail has transformed information exchange in education, business and leisure activity and has enormous potential for efficiency savings within the health service. Healthcare professionals have been reluctant to use e-mail to communicate with their patients because of technical barriers, fear of a new communication medium, and perceived fears about confidentiality and litigation issues. Most e-mail enquiries from patients can be handled in less than 2 minutes. This article reviews the opportunities and pitfalls of using e-mail consultations to meet patient demand while saving doctors' time.E-mail consultation requests originating from outside one's practice are best avoided and enquirers directed to an appropriate internet service such as NHS Direct or a disease-specific website. E-mail requests from one's own patients divide into three groups.Administrative enquiries such as a request for an extension of an insurance certificate, enquiry about completing benefit forms can be dealt with by a simple ‘yes, collect form from reception’. These exchanges of information take only a few seconds and can save the need for many face-to-face consultations or telephone calls during busy office hours.Medication enquiries often pertain to possible side effects or potential drug interactions with recently prescribed drugs or complimentary medicine being taken by the patient. These enquiries take at most a couple of minutes to answer after reference to the British National Formulary or an internet search to check the active ingredients of proprietary compounds. These enquiries almost never require a face-to-face … ER -