December 6, 2022
A new study published Nov 30 in JAMA Network Open, reported “researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze more than 1.4 million electronic health record (EHR) emails to physicians”; “43% were from patients; the remainder were mostly from other physicians or clinicians, or automated”.
The “Researchers were struck by the hostility of that sentiment, displayed in messages” characterizing them as “distressing for physicians to read”.
The article reported “about 5% of emails had an overall negative sentiment, with high-frequency words like “cancel,” “pain,” or “problem.” Among patient messages, 3% were negative and contained words and expletives suggesting hatred, hostility, or violence. “F***” was the most common expletive used by patients”.
Read the full article here
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