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Niels Kristian Kjaer

Publications and source records attributed to Niels Kristian Kjaer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[E-mail communication in general practice].

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to examine how e-mail communication in general practice affects the doctor/patient relationship and doctors' workload. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Registration was done of e-mail activity in three Danish GP surgeries over a period of 12 months and focus group interviews with patients and doctors. RESULTS: The practices received 191 e-mails per 1,000 patients per year. The male/female ratio was 0.9 to 1. The average patient age was 47.2 years; the oldest user was 88 years old. Qualitative data were categorized under various headings, such as need, expectations, usability, workload, patient service, the communication part of professionalism, worries and barriers against use. DISCUSSION: E-mail is a requested and useful communication form between doctors and patients in general practice. But it requires guidance and structured communication. It works best when the doctor and patient know each other. It is being used less than might be expected. The barriers from patients' point of view are lack of knowledge of and access to computers, lack of awareness of the possibility of contacting the physician by e-mail and the absence of a personal invitation for use by the personal physician. It is a matter of concern that patients apparently don't read the recommendations concerning proper use of e-mail communication, even though they are clearly described on the Web site and patients have to click "has been read" to be able to continue.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

[Telemedicine and general practice--future or present. Telemedicine, a way to strengthen the gatekeeper role?].

Electronic communication and data-processing are by no means a new phenomenon in general practice. The next logical step might be to include telemedicine, i.e. images, sound, video, and other kinds of medical information in the communication process. The potential for applying telemedicine in the adjoining areas between the general practice and the hospitals and patients is reviewed. We assume that an increase in the use of electronic communication and telemedicine will strengthen the central role of general practice. A representative sample of international literature is reviewed. The findings are that patients have no substantial misgivings against the use of telemedicine, but scientific documentation of the influence on the patient-doctor relationship, on the quality and quantity of the medical work, and on the job satisfaction of general practitioners is still not available. We present a number of suggestions regarding the use of electronic communication between the general practitioner and the patient. The importance of providing clear, in-depth information to the patient about the use of medical IT communication is underlined. The aspect of data-security is evaluated, and for lack of precise guidelines from health officials it is our suggestion that the report from the Danish Ministry of Finance regarding data-security in public administration is consulted. As to data-access, doctors and patients should be placed on two different safety-levels. It's suggested that doctors should be equipped with a digital key, whereas patients should use a pin code and their social security number. The use of traditional e-mail is dissuaded when exchanging sensitive, person-related information. The importance of valid evaluation of new IT functions is underlined.

Computer Communication Networks↗