New research from the University of Texas at Austin reveals that while telehealth offers benefits like cost reduction and improved access to care, its effectiveness varies across different medical conditions. Circulatory, respiratory, and infectious diseases showed limited benefits due to challenges in symptom communication. Telehealth also poses drawbacks, including increased after-hours work for providers and barriers like interstate licensure and internet connectivity. Strategic utilization of telehealth in areas where it provides the most value is recommended.
Recent research from the University of Texas at Austin reveals that telehealth has limited benefits for circulatory, respiratory, and infectious diseases, among others. While telehealth has the potential to lower costs and decrease emergency room visits, these advantages are not universal.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was already gaining traction, but its widespread adoption during the crisis has made it an integral part of healthcare delivery. Overall, telehealth is recognized for its convenience, cost reduction, and increased accessibility to care. However, researchers from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business highlight the mixed outcomes of telehealth.
Indranil Bardhan, a professor of information, risk, and operations management, remarks, “People believed that telehealth would be the next big thing, the future of health care. But our research shows that its impact is not as straightforward as people might think. It’s more nuanced.”
The UT Austin team employed the process virtualization theory to evaluate visits at hospital-based outpatient clinics in Maryland from 2012 to 2021. The findings demonstrate that telehealth reduced the number of subsequent outpatient visits within 30 days by approximately 14%. It also led to cost savings of $239 per patient in outpatient spending.
However, the study reveals that telehealth benefited certain specialties such as behavioral health, metabolic disorders, dermatology, and musculoskeletal issues, while others did not experience the same advantages. Conditions like circulatory, respiratory, and infectious diseases showed minimal benefits due to challenges in effectively communicating and observing symptoms.
The study authors write, “Our research identifies the boundary conditions that determine the nuanced impact of telehealth on care utilization and shows that its effectiveness depends on the process virtualization potential of different diseases.”
Consequently, the key takeaway from this study is that telehealth should be strategically utilized in clinical areas where it provides the most value.
While telehealth offers several benefits, additional research also highlights its drawbacks. A study from August 2022 revealed that telehealth usage resulted in increased after-hours work for providers, potentially leading to clinician burnout.
The researchers aimed to address clinician burnout by exploring telehealth’s potential, using work outside of work (WOW) as a primary measure. They discovered that WOW was higher when telehealth was utilized.
Moreover, various barriers hinder the adoption of telehealth and can limit its benefits. In June, the Virginia Telehealth Network released a report detailing telehealth usage among providers in the state. The report highlighted challenges such as interstate licensure and internet connectivity among patients, calling for improvements in these areas.
