Consultation of the doctor via e-mail or app has been a hit, but the doctors believe it has taken the upper hand.

More and more people choose to consult their gp via e-mail or an app on your phone.

In ten years, the number of so-called e-consultations increased fivefold from 1.3 million consultations in 2008 to 7.1 million last year.

It is both good and bad, believes the general practitioners president, Christian Freitag.

- The positive interpretation is that it provides citizens with significantly better accessibility to their doctor.

- But we spend a lot of time to answer things that should not be come to us or done on another show, he says.

the Problem, according lægeformanden be inquiries from patients, as the doctors does not already have a close contact with.

- If there is talk about a first contact, so provide an e-consultation rarely make any sense.

- It can also be a patient who has been concerned, because it marks a change.

- In this situation, it is very rare that we as doctors can betrygge people by using a e-mail. It requires that we look and examined the patient, says Christian Freitag.

in turn, gives the e-consultation, according to the president, the good sense, for example, if it is about questions and answers to a patient who already started with a course of treatment.

Lægeformanden will now discuss with overenskomstpartneren Danish Regions, what you can do to ensure that e-consultations are used correctly.

- We have no desire to impose the kind of contact, it provides in many situations a lot of sense.

- But we must take care that it does not evolve in a way so that we, as physicians sitting in front of the keys, the half-day.

- It will be the sin, if what we are best at - namely, to speak with and examine patients - must fade into the background.

Christian Freitag considering several types of solutions:

- It could be a campaign about what it is for the types of submissions we can cope with through the e-consultation.

- But it could also be that we need to have different types of e-consultations rather than just one that covers it all, says Christian Freitag.

In the Danish Regions is ready to discuss the matter with the doctors.

- It is generally a good development, many citizens are using the digital opportunities in the health care system.

- We need to make sure that the availability can keep up with the increasing use of e-consultations, so we are of course open to discuss what you can do to ensure that they are used properly, " says Bo Libergren (V), vice-president of the regional wage and praksisudvalg.

/ritzau/