After patients have been discharged from the emergency department, a doctor often has to call them a few days later to follow up. At the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, they tested the waters of the 21st century with E-mail.

What the researchers wanted to know: Does E-mail work better than telephone for following up on patients?

What they did: For two months in 2003, research assistants waited around in the emergency department to ask patients' parents or guardians if they had E-mail. If they did, and agreed to join the study, they were randomly assigned to get a phone call or E-mail follow-up 24 to 96 hours after the kid left the emergency department. The parents didn't know which to expect. The caller or E-mail asked if the child had been to the doctor to follow up on their emergency visit, and how satisfied they were with their treatment at the hospital. (A usual follow-up call might include checking up on the patient's health or telling parents the results of tests, like lab cultures or radiology.)

What they found: Calling worked much better; 87 percent of those families were reached, and it took an average of 17 hours to get in touch with them. In contrast, only 53 percent of the E-mails were answered, and they took an average of 46 hours. Ten percent of the messages bounced. After 10 days, the researchers called parents who hadn't answered their E-mail to ask why. Most hadn't checked their E-mail, didn't remember seeing the message, or had had trouble with E-mail access.

What the study means to you: Well, E-mail sure is convenient...when it works. But, the researchers say, even though the telephone worked better in this case, E-mail will probably become more important.

Caveats: The research assistants called up to five times to try to reach the parents, while the E-mail was only sent once.

Read the article: Goldman, R.D., et al. "Follow-up After a Pediatric Emergency Department Visit: Telephone Versus E-Mail?" Pediatrics. October 2004, Vol. 114, No. 4, pp. 988-991.

Abstract online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org