The use of email by doctors in the West Midlands

We surveyed the use of email by doctors in the West Midlands. In addition t o 224 questionnaires distributed to doctors at three large hospitals, 300 g eneral practitioners (GPs) selected randomly from a list of 711 were also s ent questionnaires. There was a 60% response rate. Overall, 65% of the 314 respondents used email, but 84% of hospital doctors used email compared wit h 55% of GPs. Email was used mainly for communication with friends and fami ly (92%) and work colleagues (61%), with only 7% using email for transmitti ng clinical data and 3% to send or receive referrals. Email usage showed a significant trend with respect to age, being highest in the 20-29-year age group and lowest among those aged over 60 years. Over 60% of respondents fe lt that email was not secure for the transfer of patient data. However, 90% felt that they would be using email in a clinical setting in five years' t ime. Despite the relatively high use of email for social communication, wor k-related use by doctors was low.