The Positive Potential of Telemedicine Is Vast, but Consideration of Access Is also Necessary: Commentary on an article by Christina P. Herrero, MD, et al.: "Patient Satisfaction Is Equivalent Using Telemedicine Versus Office-Based Follow-up After Arthroscopic Meniscal Surgery. A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial".

Abstract

Commentary Herrero et al. should be commended for scientifically evaluating a useful health-care delivery tool that has become an increasingly utilized part of the clinician’s armamentarium: telemedicine. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, provision of care via telemedicine has accelerated dramatically1,2. The authors of this paper prospectively evaluated the efficacy of telemedicine, utilizing robust methods aligned with the principles of conducting randomized controlled trials. The authors reported that patient satisfaction with overall care is equivalent between telemedicine and office-based follow-up in the immediate postoperative period after arthroscopic meniscal surgery, and this finding is encouraging. The study is also notable for identifying clinical scenarios in which telemedicine would be useful; specifically, in cases of routine surgical procedures after which direct physical interaction is not always necessary. In this study, patients who underwent isolated arthroscopic meniscal repair or meniscectomy were included. Nonetheless, it is prudent to be aware of the limitations of or barriers to the wide adoption of telemedicine, as was highlighted by the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. One limitation is access: those who participated were required to have access to telecommunications devices (i.e., cell phones, tablets, or computers) with microphones and cameras, have a proficiency in the English language, and be digitally literate. Thus, there is potential that socioeconomic factors could play a role in limiting access to telemedicine despite its efficacy. The potential to enhance patient care through telemedicine, although vast, will also need the development of strategies that continue to allow those most disadvantaged to participate. The findings of this study highlight the great promise and potential of telemedicine in current practice if used in appropriate clinical scenarios, but care should be taken to ensure that it does not exacerbate issues pertaining to limited access to health care.