Table 1. Time Spent Answering Patient Messages (in Seconds) and Reply Length Across Physician Groups Over 3 Periods.
| Period | Immediate activation (n = 25 physicians) | Delayed activation (n = 27 physicians) | No activation (n = 70 physicians) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Median (IQR) | No. | Median (IQR) | No. | Median (IQR) | |
| Read time, s | ||||||
| Time 0a | 713 | 26 (11-69) | 813 | 25 (10-67) | 2154 | 21 (9-54) |
| Time 1b | 788 | 31 (15-70) | 781 | 29 (11-77) | 1908 | 22 (9-63) |
| Time 2c | 768 | 31 (14-70) | 746 | 32 (15-72) | 1988 | 23 (9-60) |
| Reply time, s | ||||||
| Time 0a | 713 | 70 (38-122) | 813 | 71 (37-128) | 2154 | 58 (28-124) |
| Time 1b | 788 | 60 (32-126) | 781 | 64 (30-123) | 1908 | 56 (28-114) |
| Time 2c | 768 | 65 (28-119) | 746 | 71 (32-127) | 1988 | 60 (28-127) |
| Reply length, characters | ||||||
| Time 0a | 713 | 214 (124-361) | 813 | 276 (154-457) | 2154 | 210 (115-371) |
| Time 1b | 788 | 304 (175-528) | 781 | 252 (146-451) | 1908 | 211 (117-379) |
| Time 2c | 768 | 276 (150-463) | 746 | 287 (157-488) | 1988 | 212 (113-382) |
a
Preactivation period, 1 to 21 days before randomization day.
b
Zero to 20 days post randomization and activation (immediate activation group), or 0 to 20 days after randomization date (delayed group).
c
Twenty-one to 41 days post activation (immediate group), or 0 to 20 days post activation (delayed group).