From the Journals

Care via video teleconferencing can be as effective as in-person for some conditions


 

FROM ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE

As the pandemic shows no signs of ending, primary care doctors may be reassured that delivering care via video teleconferencing can be as effective as usual in-person consultation for several common health conditions.

Jordan Albritton, PhD, RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Dr. Jordan Albritton

This was a finding of a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine involving a review of literature on video teleconferencing (VTC) visits, which was authored by Jordan Albritton, PhD, MPH and his colleagues.

The authors found generally comparable patient outcomes as well as no differences in health care use, patient satisfaction, and quality of life when visits conducted using VTC were compared with usual care.

While VTC may work best for monitoring patients with chronic conditions, it can also be effective for acute care, said Dr. Albritton, who is a research public health analyst at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in an interview.

The investigators analyzed 20 randomized controlled trials of at least 50 patients and acceptable risk of bias in which VTC was used either for main or adjunct care delivery. Published from 2013 to 2019, these studies looked at care for diabetes and pain management, as well as some respiratory, neurologic, and cardiovascular conditions. Studies comparing VTC with usual care that did not involve any added in-person care were more likely to favor the VTC group, the investigators found.

“We excluded conditions such as substance use disorders, maternal care, and weight management for which there was sufficient prior evidence of the benefit of VTC,” Dr. Albritton said in an interview. “But I don’t think our results would have been substantially different if we had included these other diseases. We found general evidence in the literature that VTC is effective for a broader range of conditions.”

In some cases, such as if changes in a patient’s condition triggered an automatic virtual visit, the author said he thinks VTC may lead to even greater effectiveness.

“The doctor and patient could figure out on the spot what’s going on and perhaps change the medication,” Dr. Albritton explained.

In general agreement is Julia L. Frydman, MD, assistant professor in the Brookdale Department of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, who was not involved in the RTI research.

Julia L. Frydman, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York

Dr. Julia L. Frydman

“Telemedicine has promise across many medical subspecialties, and what we need now are more studies to understand the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and clinicians as well as the impact of telemedicine on health outcomes and healthcare utilization.”

In acknowledgment of their utility, video visits are on the rise in the United States. A 2020 survey found that 22% of patients and 80% of physicians reported having participated in a video visit, three times the rate of the previous year. The authors noted that policy changes enacted to support telehealth strategies during the pandemic are expected to remain in place, and although patients are returning to in-person care, the virtual visit market will likely continue growing.

Pages

Recommended Reading

Medical technology should keep patient in mind
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
How to deal with offensive or impaired doctors
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Beware of private equity–owned nursing homes: study
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
CDC unveils mental health protection plan for health care workers
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Patient whips out smartphone and starts recording: Trouble ahead?
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Did prior authorization refusals lead to this patient’s death?
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Ten changes that could keep clinicians in the workforce in a pandemic
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Finding healthcare ‘soul-destroying,’ some turn to online sex work
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Telemedicine, triaging, remote monitoring top list of COVID-era innovations in oncology
MDedge Hematology and Oncology
Seven legal risks of promoting unproven COVID-19 treatments
MDedge Hematology and Oncology