Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35881831›Full record

ArticleJMIR cardio2022

The Association Between Telemedicine Use and Changes in Health Care Usage and Outcomes in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Cherry Chu, Vess Stamenova, Jiming Fang, Ahmad Shakeri, Mina Tadrous, R Sacha Bhatia

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR cardio, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Cherry ChuWomen's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4072-0083
Vess StamenovaWomen's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3252-7766
Jiming FangInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-0987
Ahmad ShakeriWomen's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5647-6900
Mina TadrousWomen's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1911-6129
R Sacha BhatiaOntario Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6206-5318
University of Toronto · CAWomen's College Hospital · CAInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences · CAUniversity Health Network · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTelemedicine use has become widespread owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its impact on patient outcomes remains unclear.

objectiveWe sought to investigate the effect of telemedicine use on changes in health care usage and clinical outcomes in patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF).

methodsWe conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using administrative data in Ontario, Canada. Patients were included if they had at least one ambulatory visit between March 14 and September 30, 2020, and a heart failure diagnosis any time prior to March 14, 2020. Telemedicine users were propensity score-matched with unexposed users based on several baseline characteristics. Monthly use of various health care services was compared between the 2 groups during 12 months before to 3 months after their index in-person or telemedicine ambulatory visit after March 14, 2020, using generalized estimating equations.

resultsA total of 11,131 pairs of telemedicine and unexposed patients were identified after matching (49% male; mean age 78.9, SD 12.0 years). All patients showed significant reductions in health service usage from pre- to postindex visit. There was a greater decline across time in the unexposed group than in the telemedicine group for CHF admissions (ratio of slopes for high- vs low-frequency users 1.02, 95% CI 1.02-1.03), cardiovascular admissions (1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04), any-cause admissions (1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04), any-cause ED visits (1.03, 95% CI 1.03-1.04), visits with any cardiologist (1.01, 95% CI 1.01-1.02), laboratory tests (1.02, 95% CI 1.02-1.03), diagnostic tests (1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.05), and new prescriptions (1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03). However, the decline in primary care visit rates was steeper among telemedicine patients than among unexposed patients (ratio of slopes 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1.00).

conclusionsOverall health care usage over time appeared higher among telemedicine users than among low-frequency users or nonusers, suggesting that telemedicine was used by patients with the greatest need or that it allowed patients to have better access or continuity of care among those who received it.

Indexed as

ambulatorycardiaccardiologyclinical outcomecongestive heart failureCOVID-19digital healtheHealthhealth outcomehealth servicehealth systemheartoutcomespatient outcomepopulationtelehealthtelemedicineutilization

Identifiers

PMID35881831
PMCPMC9359304
OpenAlexW4286384172

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.