Johns Hopkins Medicine among health systems to charge for patient messages to doctors

Johns Hopkins Medicine will soon start charging patients for sending messages to their doctors through its online portal — joining a growing group of health systems around the country making the move in the industry’s pandemic-driven embrace of virtual care. The Baltimore-based nonprofit said Wednesday in a letter to patients that it made the decision “after careful review” and “as a way to make sure our clinicians have the time they need to review and respond appropriately to your concerns, just as they would with an in-person or video visit.”