Hoping to save time and money, Americans have no qualms about emailing their primary care physician about some health-related issues, finds a study on email communication and health care.

Lightspeed Research, a marketing research firm, conducted a survey of 1,000 individuals in August 2009. The company found that over half of the participants would embrace email communication for routine interactions with their doctor. Although 46 percent of respondents said they were unwilling to pay for an email consultation, 31 percent were willing to pay if it was covered by insurance.

In the survey, nearly 60 percent said they had no problem with receiving routine test results via an email, while 53 percent would send an email to request a repeat prescription and 51 percent would do the same to update their doctors on an existing condition.

. . . . Women were more receptive to the idea of emailing their doctors than men, but individuals age 55 and older were least likely to see any advantages in emailing their doctor about an illness or condition, the survey’s report notes. [However,] that group was more likely to purchase its medications online compared to other age groups in the survey.

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