Table 5.

Benefits and drawbacks of telehealth according to the “Access to Care” outcome factor per perspective.

Perspective and benefits of telehealth		Drawbacks of telehealth
Primary care clinician perspective
	Greater number of patients that can be seen using telehealth compared with in person (ie, teleconsultations tend to be shorter and more convenient, reducing cancelation rates) [25,26] Enables clinicians to connect with patients who may prefer technology over in-person encounters [25]	Harder to address language or cognition barriers [32] Need to address risks associated with digital platforms (eg, cyberattacks, security, and confidentiality in web-based communication) [25]
Patient perspective
	Reduced travel time [31,34] Improved convenience [1,22,25,26,30,31] Ability to book consultations outside clinic hours [25,30] Ability to access care quicker owing to not requiring the same clinician for simple concerns [25,31,34]	Excludes and deters potentially at-risk patients who are not familiar with the technology [21,22]
Both primary care clinician and patient perspective
	Satisfied with access and technical quality in most telehealth consultations [1,18] Timely and more frequent access to care for at-risk patients because of convenience and shortened wait times [1,26,27,30]	Insufficient technical support, infrastructure, or equipment to access telehealth [33] Varying complexity of telehealth systems needed because of different complexities in patients’ health conditions (eg, may require special equipment, hardware, or software or stronger internet access) [25]