Systematic review of cost effectiveness studies of telemedicine interventions
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: To systematically review cost benefit studies of telemedicine. Design: Systematic review of English language, peer reviewed journal articles. Data sources: Searches of Medline, Embase, ISI citation indexes, and database of Telemedicine Information Exchange. Studies selected: 55 of 612 identified articles that presented actual cost benefit data. Main outcome measures: Scientific quality of reports assessed by use of an established instrument for adjudicating on the quality of economic analyses. Results: 557 articles without cost data categorised by topic. 55 articles with data initially categorised by cost variables employed in the study and conclusions. Only 24/55 (44%) studies met quality criteria justifying inclusion in a quality review. 20/24 (83%) restricted to simple cost comparisons. No study used cost utility analysis, the conventional means of establishing the “value for money” that a therapeutic intervention represents. Only 7/24 (29%) studies attempted to explore the level of utilisation that would be needed for telemedicine services to compare favourably with traditionally organised health care. None addressed this question in sufficient detail to adequately answer it. 15/24 (62.5%) of articles reviewed here provided no details of sensitivity analysis, a method all economic analyses should incorporate. Conclusion: There is no good evidence that telemedicine is a cost effective means of delivering health care.
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Overall, cost-effectiveness research was very poor, as it was of small scale and short duration.
“Overall, cost-effectiveness research was very poor, as it was of small scale and short duration [77].”
From The Impact of Telehealthcare on the Quality and Safety of Care: A Systematic Overview (2013) · cites this paper as [77]
That review reported that 24 of 55 studies included formal trial data, the remainder being hypothetical or modelling studies.
“It reviewed the 55 studies found by searching for “cost-effectiveness” in association with “telehealth” in appropriate databases and reported that 24 studies included formal trial data, the remainder being hypothetical or modelling studies.”
From The Impact of Telehealthcare on the Quality and Safety of Care: A Systematic Overview (2013) · cites this paper as [77]
There was only one review formally examining the cost-effectiveness of telehealthcare.
“There was only one review formally examining the cost-effectiveness of telehealthcare [77].”
From The Impact of Telehealthcare on the Quality and Safety of Care: A Systematic Overview (2013) · cites this paper as [77]
Of the 24 studies, most evaluated cost-effectiveness from the health service perspective, while only four undertook a broader societal perspective.
“Of these 24 studies, most evaluated cost-effectiveness from the perspective of the health service, while only four undertook an evaluation encompassing the broader societal perspective.”
From The Impact of Telehealthcare on the Quality and Safety of Care: A Systematic Overview (2013) · cites this paper as [77]
Little is known about the acceptability of telemedicine among minority populations.
“yet little is known about its acceptability among minority populations.”
From Pre-experience Perceptions About Telemedicine Among African Americans and Latinos in South Central Los Angeles (2009) · cites this paper as [9]
There is little in the existing literature on telemedicine or healthcare in general that sheds light on perceptions about telemedicine among the general population and more specifically, urban underserved populations.
“there is little in the existingliterature on telemedicine or healthcare in general that sheds light on perceptions about telemedicine among the general population and more specifically, urban underserved populations.8,9”
From Pre-experience Perceptions About Telemedicine Among African Americans and Latinos in South Central Los Angeles (2009) · cites this paper as [9]
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- Authors
- Whitten, P. S., Mair, F. S., Haycox, A., May, C. R., Williams, T. L., & Hellmich, S.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Whitten, Pamela S
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2002-06-15
- Volume
- 324
- Issue
- 7351
- Pages
- 1434-1437
- ISSN
- 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
- 0959-8138
- 1468-5833
- PMC
- PMC115857
- OpenAlex
- W2066432419
- Cited by
- 526
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 6.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Licence
- www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (submittedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare cost, quality, practices
- Keywords
- telemedicine, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis, cost-utility analysis, sensitivity analysis, health care utilization, value for money
- MeSH terms
- Cost-Benefit Analysis, Health Services Research, Humans, Research, Sensitivity and Specificity, Technology Assessment, Biomedical, Telemedicine
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