Home / Health / Study: Message Etiquette Influences Doctor Response Rates
Study: Message Etiquette Influences Doctor Response Rates
24 Aug
Summary
- Message writing style significantly impacts doctor response rates.
- Formal greetings and expressive punctuation increase doctor replies.
- AI tools may help level the playing field for patient messages.
A recent study by Dr. Mitchell Tang from Columbia University highlights significant disparities in patient portal message response rates. Researchers analyzed over 3 million messages and found that differences in writing style accounted for about half of these disparities, particularly affecting marginalized patient groups.
Key writing elements like starting messages with formal greetings such as "Dear Dr. [Last Name]" and using expressive punctuation, including multiple question or exclamation marks, were associated with higher response rates. Longer messages also showed a greater likelihood of being passed to the intended clinician.
Dr. Tang emphasizes that the focus should be on improving the healthcare system's backend rather than placing blame on patients. He suggests that AI tools could potentially assist patients in drafting messages, helping to standardize communication and promote equity in doctor responses.
For urgent matters, patients are advised to call their doctor's office, as portal messages may go through a triage system and typically receive a response within two business days.
