A study in BMC Health Services Research examined whether telemedicine care could be a quality alternative to outpatient orthopedic clinics.
Here's what you should know.
1. The researchers performed a randomized controlled trial with two groups. The patients either went to a traditional outpatient orthopedic facility or received care through a telemedicine conference.
2. There were 199 patients who received a remote consultation and 190 who went to a traditional clinic.
3. The specialist evaluation was better at the outpatient facility than through the remote conference, but patients stay gave the telemedicine conference high confidence ratings.
4. Orthopedic surgeons evaluated the video consultations and ranked 98 percent of them as either good or very good.
5. The researchers concluded it's safe to offer the video-assisted consultations for select orthopedic patients. They suggest research is needed to test the economic aspects and patient satisfaction before a widespread adaptation.
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