ArticleThe Permanente journal2026
The Impact of Telehealth on Cost and Time Efficiency for Patients With Disabilities During Nonemergency Encounters: A Scoping Review.
Article in The Permanente journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTelehealth services have expanded in recent years, showing promising potential to improve health care access. This review examined the impact of telehealth on individuals of all ages living with chronic disabilities with a focus on cost, as well as other key outcomes such as time efficiency, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction.
methodsPRISMA guidelines were followed to examine US-based studies between 2018 and 2024 across 4 databases using keywords related to cost, telehealth, and disability. Studies were screened using Covidence software. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion. Data was extracted using a standardized form and thematically analyzed.
resultsOut of 230 preliminary studies, 8 met the inclusion criteria. Telehealth interventions were found to be time and cost effective with comparable clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction for individuals of all ages with disabilities. However, some challenges of integrating processes in emergency departments resulting in longer stays and implementation issues were noted. DISCUSSION: Although cost benefits were evident for patients, programs, and health systems, successful implementation depends on resolving challenges related to digital infrastructure, equitable access, and patient-practitioner rapport.
conclusionTelehealth represents a promising approach to improving health care access for individuals with disabilities, if implementation challenges are strategically addressed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.