Table 2.

Summary of study characteristics and the quality of evidence from all included studies.

Source (year, country)	Health condition	Study design	Telemedicine approach	Outcome measures	Follow-up period	Quality of evidencea
Cocker et al (2019, United States) [48]	Mental health	Cluster RCTb	Video orientations and videoconferencing screening visits with a mental health clinic	Primary: completion of screening visit Secondary: time from referral to screening visit and completion of intake visit	6 months	Low
Erkkola-Anttinen et al (2019, Finland) [49]	Otitis media	RCT	At-home otoscopy videos via smartphone	Primary: exclusion of otitis media Secondary: diagnostic quality of videos and effects of teaching interventions	60 days	Moderate
Perry et al (2018, United States) [47]	Asthma	Cluster RCT	Asthma education and monitoring via a telemedicine approach	Primary: number of symptom-free days Secondary: peak flow meter use, medication adherence, quality of life, self-efficacy, lung function, and asthma knowledge	6 months	Low
Halterman et al (2018, United States) [46]	Asthma	RCT	School-based telemedicine visits	Primary: number of symptom-free days Secondary: number of days with symptoms, use of rescue medication, and number of days with limited activity	7-9 months for intervention and up to 5 years after enrollment	Moderate
O’Connor et al (2017, United States) [43]	Skin condition	RCT	Parents used a smartphone to photograph their child’s skin condition for direct patient-to-physician telemedicine.	Primary: Concordance between in-person and photograph-based diagnoses Secondary: parents’ willingness, image quality, and effect of photograph instructions	None	Low
Di Bartolo et al (2017, Italy) [42]	Type 1 diabetes	RCT	Glucose meters were able to sync with a phone app, which can directly send information to health care workers. Patients were able to contact physicians via email, SMS text messaging, or telephone.	Primary: changes in hemoglobin A1c levels Secondary: number of patients who self-monitored their blood glucose levels and patients’ quality of life	12 months	Moderate
Fleischman et al (2016, United States) [41]	Obesity	RCT	Televisits with obesity specialists and teleconsults between physicians and specialists	Primary: changes in BMI Secondary: waist circumference, triceps skinfold, blood pressure, dietary glycemic load, and physical activity	12 months	Low
Rhodes et al (2017, United States) [44]	Obesity	RCT	Dietary counseling via telephone	Primary: changes in glycemic load and total number of calories in fat Secondary: total energy intake	12 months	Moderate
Stoep et al (2017, United States) [45]	Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder	RCT	Telepsychiatry sessions via video counseling	Primary: changes in distress, as measured by a variety of questionnaires Secondary: patient health, caregiver strain, parenting stress, and family empowerment	25 weeks	Moderate
Davis et al (2016, United States) [40]	Obesity	Cluster RCT	Physicians delivered behavioral group interventions to families via a telemedicine approach.	Primary: BMI z score Secondary: feasibility measures, parents’ BMIs, 24-hour dietary recall, behavioral checklist scores, feeding assessment scale scores, and accelerometer data	8 months	Moderate
Powers et al (2015, United States) [39]	Cystic fibrosis and pancreatic insufficiency	RCT	Parts of both treatments were delivered via telephone.	Primary: changes in energy intake Secondary: changes in weight z scores and changes in height z scores	18 months	High

^aQuality ratings are based on the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria.

^bRCT: randomized controlled trial.