In an upcoming Big Issues special report on health care, The Wall Street Journal will explore the pros and cons of email communication between doctors and patients. Although patients overwhelmingly have said they would like to be able to use email to discuss clinical issues with their doctors, only 31% of practices say that they use email regularly to communicate with patients. Supporters say email can help build trust, improve efficiency and help modernize health care. Critics counter that

reliance on email can be a source of increased liability risk, can add to the time demands on doctors and is a poor substitute for face-to-face discussion of medical issues. What do you think? Tell us your answer in the poll below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments here.  We’ll publish poll results and selected comments in our upcoming package. Image: iStockphoto

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Vote: Should Physicians Use Email to Communicate With Patients?