The phrase “You’ve got mail” long ago became music to the ears of Internet-savvy Americans.

Schools, businesses and families alike have found e-mail an indispensable tool for streamlining communication. The health care community, which so sorely needs remedies for its overcrowded and expensive delivery system, has been slow to adopt it. But it’s long past time for physicians to embrace this technology, too.

A recent Spokesman-Review article reported that more than 136,000 Group Health members in Washington send or receive nearly 32,400 messages a month through that nonprofit’s system.

It’s time for the rest of the medical world to catch up.

Secure e-mail correspondence is bound to make health care speedier, more efficient and less expensive. Best of all, it’s not just patients who appreciate it. Group Health doctors like it, too.

Certainly, e-mail should not be used for urgent conditions, first-time doctor’s visits or relaying complicated or serious health news. But it’s ideal for both routine and follow-up questions, such as “What were the results of my lab report?” or “The dosage of my medication isn’t working. What should I try next?”

These are the kinds of issues already handled over the phone in many offices.

Patients follow guidelines on keeping their messages concise and focused. And physicians can often answer in a sentence or two.

E-mail can also reduce telephone tag and confusion for nurses and assistants who must take down messages and pass them along.

Physicians have been concerned that e-mail correspondence would increase their workload and reduce their compensation. But some who have tried it report that the use of e-mail allows them to provide more face time for patients who truly need it.

Innovative methods have been devised for compensating doctors for e-mail time (Group Health pays $5 a message for up to four a day. Other programs bill insurers roughly half the cost of an office call.) But many physicians already talk on the phone with patients without charge. Faster e-mail would often replace many of those uncompensated, yet more time-consuming, phone calls.

Ultimately, a number of the larger issues facing health care may be addressed by replacing the fee-for-service model with salaries for doctors. Job requirements for the latter approach would likely include e-mail responses.

In the meantime, more physicians would be wise to turn to technology to help improve the care their patients receive. If patients are healthier, doctors less harried and costs reduced, those added e-mail keystrokes will certainly pay off.