[qudat]

My wife works at an academic hospital and bills for messages sent through the portal. If it hasn't arrived yet, it will. Patient care specialists (nurses, physicians, etc.) are spending a ton of time everyday responding to patient "text" messages.

[NegativeK]

A friend is a vet and frequently rolls their eyes when I mention that I'm going into a doctor's office to review lab results. But in that meatspace discussion, we talked about dietary changes, upcoming medications and potential interactions, how my primary should get some records from another doctor, and I was able to ask about if an elective medical procedure was advisable, given my medical history. It was easily 20 minutes of relaxed discussion about an actual medical plan.

If it was three minutes of "these are your lab results; you should/shouldn't come in for a follow-up," I'd agree that it should be a phone call that's covered under the cost of the original appointment. But given that vet friend is constantly pressed for time and doesn't get to bill separately for those callbacks, I can't imagine why my primary doctor would want to do the same.

I don't want medical professionals responsible for my care to squeeze things in when they have time. Insurance is likely to be even more of a pain in the ass, and cramming in tasks because they're unpaid means lower quality of care.