Background: Mail and the telephone are common communication links between departments of family medicine and their community-based preceptors. The availability of low-cost fax/modem boards offers the potential for new communication methods. This study compares the cost of personal computer-based fax/modem board communications with traditional mail and telephone linkages.
Methods: The department's community preceptor faculty served as the study population. Sixty-eight physicians (54%) had fax machines; these physicians received faxes instead of mailed communications. The remaining 59 physicians (46%) received mailed communications. All preceptors received standard telephone calls. Costs for telephone, mail, and fax/modem board communications were tracked over a 4-month period.
Results: Faxes were significantly less expensive and more efficient than either telephone or mail communications. Telephone communications were the most expensive.
Conclusions: The study suggests that fax/modem boards offer a communication linkage with preceptors that is more economical than either mail or telephone.