Table 2. Patient-centric outcomes.
| Title | Research design | Time of study | Number of visits/patients | Patient cohort | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact study: Patient Survey Summary | National survey | 12/1/21–2/5/21 | 2,007 patients | Patients who received at least one telehealth visit in the last year | • 83% of patients reported overall satisfaction with their visit |
| • 76% indicated telehealth removed transportation as a barrier | |||||
| • 83% felt that patient-physician communication was strong | |||||
| Outpatient visit modality and parallel patient satisfaction | National survey | 7/1/20–6/30/21 | 307,185 patients | New and established patients across all specialties | • No significant differences in ratings of telehealth visits and in-person clinic visits (P=0.672) |
| • Significantly higher satisfaction with in-person visits for medical specialties (88.6 vs. 89.3, P<0.001) | |||||
| • Significantly higher satisfaction with telehealth visits for surgical specialties (89.8 vs. 88.8, P=0.006) | |||||
| Satisfaction with modes of telemedicine delivery during COVID-19 | Prospective, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial | 5/28/20–11/5/20 | 200 patients | Patients scheduled for routine follow-up, age 60 or older or had public insurance, had videoconferencing capability | • High satisfaction rates, 78.1% for video vs. 84.6% for phone-only; P=0.32) |
| • Phone visits not inferior to video in age- and insurance-adjusted difference in satisfaction rate; 3.2% (95% CI: −7.6% to 14%) which did not include −15% benchmark for inferiority | |||||
| Results of the Randomized Evaluation and Metrics Observing Telemedicine Efficacy (REMOTE) Trial | Prospective, randomized controlled trial | 6/2021–12/2021 | 165 patients | Patients undergoing ambulatory urologic surgery | • No difference in patient satisfaction between video visits (94%) and in-person encounter (98%; P=0.28) |
| • Significant difference between time spent on visits: 15 min required for telehealth vs. 1–2 hours (43% patients) and >2 hours (35% patients; P<0.0001) | |||||
| • 29% patients reported transportation would have been an issue for in-person care | |||||
| Estimated Indirect Cost Savings of Using Telehealth Among Nonelderly Patients With Cancer | Economic evaluation of cost savings from completed telehealth visits | 4/1/20–6/30/21 | 25,496 visits; 11,688 patients | All patients aged 18 to 65 who completed telehealth visit, patients not deemed appropriate for telehealth by clinician judgment or required in-person chemotherapy or radiation were excluded | • Total cost savings per visit for new evaluations: $176.6 (SD 136.3) to $222.8 (SD 177.4) |
| • Total cost savings per follow-up visit: $141.1 (SD 115.3) to $178.1 (SD 150.9) | |||||
| • For new visits, mean (SD) savings of 177.6 (161.6) roundtrip travel miles, 3.4 (2.6) hours of roundtrip driving time and 1.5 (0.0) hours of in-clinic time per visit | |||||
| • For follow-up visits, mean savings of 142.4 roundtrip travel miles, 2.8 hours of roundtrip driving time and 1.1 hours of in-clinic time per visit |
CI, confidence interval; SD, standard deviation.