Physicians’ Experiences Using Secure Messaging for Diabetes Management: A Qualitative Study

Physicians reported that secure messaging supports a longitudinal model of care, where patients can iterate their treatment plan between visits. For tasks with well-defined information boundaries, such as scheduling and prescription refill, physicians reported that secure messaging improved the time efficiency of care delivery. Providers experienced challenges using secure messaging for more complex tasks and often reported not receiving sufficient clinical information. We identified a demand for workflow technologies to process incoming secure messages to improve clarity and ensure that messages have sufficient information to inform decisions on the best course of action.