Telemedicine, In-Person Visits Show High Diagnostic Concordance

MONDAY, Sept. 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Telemedicine and in-person diagnoses of new clinical complaints yield high diagnostic concordance, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in JAMA Network Open.

Bart M. Demaerschalk, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Phoenix, and colleagues compared the concordance of provisional diagnoses established at a video telemedicine visit to diagnoses established at an in-person visit for patients presenting with a new clinical problem. The analysis included 2,393 patients seen at multiple sites (December 2020 to June 2021) within a single health care system.

The researchers found that the provisional diagnosis established over video telemedicine visit was concordant with the in-person reference standard diagnosis in 86.9 percent of cases. The concordance of diagnostic codes ranged from 64.7 percent for diseases of the ear and mastoid process to 96.8 percent for neoplasms. By specialty, diagnostic concordance ranged from 77.3 percent for otorhinolaryngology to 96.0 percent for psychiatry. Compared with primary care, specialty care was significantly more likely to result in video telemedicine diagnoses concordant with a subsequent in-person visit.

“These findings suggest that video telemedicine visits yield a high degree of diagnostic concordance to in-person visits for most new clinical concerns,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text