ArticleInternal medicine journal2021
Impact of COVID-19 telehealth on outpatient test completion.
Article in Internal medicine journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of telehealth versus in-person care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPathology and imaging tests are frequently requested in the outpatient setting despite historically poor completion rates. The impact of COVID-19 telehealth on test completion rates is unknown.
aimsTo examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth transition on pathology and imaging test request and completion rates in Australian outpatient clinics.
methodsWe performed a prospective cohort study with historical controls between March-May 2019 and March-May 2020. Pathology and imaging request and completion rates were collected in review consultation patients attending gastroenterology and rheumatology outpatient clinics at a tertiary healthcare system prior and during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne.
resultsA total of 1376 patients was included in the study. Pathology tests were requested more frequently in the COVID-19 group (n = 582/684, 85.2%) than the control group (n = 492/692, 71.1%, P < 0.001), but completion rates were lower in the COVID-19 group (n = 443/582, 76.1%) than the control group (n = 426/492 (86.6%), P < 0.001). Imaging tests were requested more frequently in the COVID-19 group (n = 345/682, 50.6%) than the control group (n = 295/692, 42.6%, P = 0.003), with lower rates of completion in the COVID-19 group (n = 229/345, 66.4%) than the control group (n = 247/295, 83.7%, P < 0.001).
conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth transition have resulted in more frequent pathology and imaging requests but fewer test completion in the outpatients setting. This study has identified new clinical risks associated with the abrupt transition to telehealth during COVID-19 that should be explored in future studies and appropriately mitigated.
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Registered trials
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