Have you heard... Patients who email their doctors are healthier?

People who exchange secure email with their doctors are more successful in treating diabetes, high blood pressure and retinopathy than people who don't email, and they are more likely to get recommended tests, according to a study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California.

The study, one of the first to show that electronic communications have a measurable positive effect on patient outcomes, observed 35,423 patients with diabetes, hypertension, or both. The findings suggest that the improvement may be due to the fact that different types of patients chose email interactions, and they could be more inclined to better manage their own health, according to Terhilda Garrido, co-author of the study and vice president of health information technology transformation and analytics at Kaiser Permanente. Emailers also build stronger relationships with their doctors and are more likely to follow doctor's orders, Garrido said.

Read the full story: Use of Health Information Technology Leads to Improved Care Quality

These findings make sense to us in terms of relationship-building, accountability, and flexibility for communication when the doctor isn't always in (sorry, couldn't resist the pun.)

Do you - or would you, if given the opportunity - securely email with your family doctor or any other health professionals? Why or why/not? We love hearing from you, so don't be shy!