Patterns and Implications of Electronic Messaging Use in Clinical Communication: Insights from a Single-Center Survey.

Background: Efficient communication in healthcare is critical, significantly impacting patient outcomes. Electronic messaging tools, like Epic Secure Chat, are increasingly integrated into healthcare settings to enhance interactions among professionals. However, the practical implications of these tools on workflow and care quality are underexplored. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive cross-sectional survey involving 309 healthcare professionals, including hospitalist physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), and internal medicine residents, to evaluate Epic Secure Chat's usage patterns, satisfaction levels, and communication preferences. Results: The survey yielded insightful data from 156 complete responses, revealing a notable issue with misdirected messages: 64.1% of hospitalists, 52.6% of residents, and 64.7% of APPs reported experiencing this problem, highlighting a significant challenge in the platform's current usage that could impact patient care communication's timeliness and accuracy. While Epic Secure Chat was the preferred medium for routine updates and interdisciplinary communications, it was less favored for urgent matters. In scenarios involving unstable patients, the majority preferred the immediacy of cell phone calls, indicating that Secure Chat might not yet meet all urgent communication needs in clinical settings. Despite its benefits, the overall satisfaction with Secure Chat was low across all professional roles, pinpointing a critical area for user experience and functionality enhancement. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the necessity for targeted training and protocol development to improve electronic messaging usage in healthcare settings. Addressing these gaps can enhance communication efficiency, improve patient care quality, and align with the broader objective of optimizing healthcare communication systems.