How Telemedicine is Cutting Down Unnecessary Medical Tests

Low-value medical tests and procedures—those that provide minimal to no benefit to patients, contribute significantly to excessive healthcare costs and potential patient harm. In an effort to assess the impact of telemedicine on reducing such unnecessary procedures, researchers from Mass General Brigham conducted a study that was recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Investigating the Link Between Telemedicine and Low-Value Testing

With the increased adoption of telemedicine following the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers sought to determine whether virtual consultations influenced the frequency of low-value tests. Lead author Dr. Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, emphasized the importance of this research in shaping Medicare policy decisions regarding continued telemedicine coverage (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Telemedicine Adoption and Low-Value Care Use and Spending Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries

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Using a quasi-experimental approach, the team analyzed Medicare claims data from 2019 to 2022, covering over 2 million beneficiaries. The study compared healthcare systems that embraced telemedicine at high rates during the pandemic against those with lower adoption levels.

The results revealed that patients in high-telemedicine systems had a marginally higher total visit rate (including both virtual and in-person appointments) but exhibited reduced usage of 7 out of 20 low-value tests, including:

• Cervical cancer screenings
• Screening electrocardiograms
• Screening metabolic panels
• Preoperative complete blood cell counts
• Preoperative metabolic panels
• Thyroid function tests (total or free triiodothyronine level testing)
• Imaging for uncomplicated low back pain

While spending on visits per patient and two of the low-value tests declined in high-telemedicine systems, overall low-value test expenditures remained unchanged.

Implications for Healthcare Policy

The findings suggest that telemedicine can help mitigate the reliance on unnecessary medical tests by eliminating routine in-office screenings that may not always be necessary. Virtual consultations may encourage a more judicious use of healthcare resources, potentially benefiting both patients and the broader healthcare system.

“These results should provide policymakers with additional confidence in supporting telemedicine expansion, as it may lead to reduced use and spending on certain low-value tests,” Dr. Ganguli noted.

The study was supported by grants from Arnold Ventures and the Commonwealth Fund, with additional funding from the National Institute on Aging. The authors disclosed potential conflicts of interest, including consulting fees and grants from healthcare research organizations.

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As the healthcare industry continues to adapt to technological advancements, telemedicine presents a promising opportunity to optimize resource allocation while maintaining care quality. Further research will be essential to fully understand the long-term impact of virtual consultations on patient outcomes and healthcare costs.

Reference:

1. Telemedicine Adoption and Low-Value Care Use and Spending Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39992684/)

Source-Medindia