Clinical Diagnoses Similar During Telehealth, In-Person Visits 

While comparing diagnostic consistency between different methods of care, a JAMA Network Study found high levels of diagnostic concordance between telehealth and in-person visits overall.

Although many providers see telehealth as immensely useful, the reliability and accuracy of the care modality can be unclear. To investigate the relationship between virtual and traditional in-person care methods, researchers used clinician diagnostic concordance as a unit of measurement.

The sample used in the study contained data from 2,393 participants from an academic integrated multispecialty healthcare institution. The median age of the participants was 53, and 57.7 percent were female.

Of the 2,393 cases, 2,080 (86.9 percent) displayed diagnostic concordance between virtual and in-person visits. Researchers also used the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, to compare concordance among different conditions. Researchers found diagnostic concordance levels as low as 64.7 percent for conditions related to the ear and mastoid process and as high as 96.8 percent for neoplasms.

Medical specialties also displayed a wide range of concordance levels. Diagnostic concordance was 77.3 percent for otorhinolaryngology and 96 percent for psychiatry.

Based on the results, diagnostic concordance between in-person visits and telehealth was consistent overall, leading researchers to believe that both care modalities are reliable for determining diagnoses. Regarding the conditions that provided low levels of diagnostic concordance, patients may limit risks by engaging in in-person visits, they stated.

Researchers did, however, note various limitations of the study, mainly relating to the generalizability of results and the absence of a diverse population.

Generally, past research has shown similar levels of care quality between in-person and virtual care modalities.

For example, a study published in December 2021 showed that the results associated with virtual prenatal and postpartum visits were similar to those linked to in-person care. Researchers drew this conclusion based on various health outcomes such as the frequency of hypertension, gestational diabetes, emergency department visits, and breastfeeding rates.

Another study published in May found that emergency room follow-ups occurred at similar rates after telehealth and in-person visits. According to researchers, there was little difference in rates of unplanned hospital stays and follow-up emergency department visits within 14 days of an in-person or virtual visit.

In March, the Journal of the American Heart Association shared details from a study that discovered similarities in rates of heart failure readmissions between those who participated in in-person and virtual visit follow-ups. The study showed that patients who participated in a follow-up through either setting were at a lower risk of readmission compared to those who did not participate in a follow-up at all.