You’ve probably stared at a patient-portal message box wondering how much information your doctor actually needs. Should you write three sentences or three paragraphs, start with “Dear Dr. Smith,” explain every symptom you’ve had for two weeks, or simply type, “Can someone call me?” New research suggests that the way we write patient portal messages may be associated with whether the intended clinician responds, even after researchers account for what the message is actually about. A JAMA Network Open study published August 24 analyzed more than 3.6 million message threads from over 511,000 adult patients and found associations between writing characteristics and care-team responses. The findings don’t guarantee that changing your writing will get your doctor to answer, but they offer some useful clues about making a portal message easier to understand and act on.
