July 7 : A systematic review found that telemedicine is often associated with fewer hospital-to-hospital transfers in both adult and pediatric populations, with no adverse effect on mortality. The findings suggest that telemedicine could reduce potentially avoidable interhospital transfers and aid in patient transfer decision making. The review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from McGill University and University of Toronto reviewed 33 studies involving 609,188 patients to determine if incorporating telemedicine into decisions about interhospital transfer is associated with a reduction in transfers among pediatric and adult patients. Because the studies varied widely in design and patient groups, the researchers summarized the findings qualitatively rather than quantitatively.
Overall, most studies showed that telemedicine was associated with lower interhospital transfer rates across patient populations and medical and surgical situations, with no adverse association with mortality outcomes observed. The authors note that the certainty of evidence was rated as very low, and substantial heterogeneity was seen across study characteristics. More research is needed to investigate a causal link between telemedicine and interhospital transfers as well as the operational burden and cost-effectiveness of using telemedicine during patient transfer decision making.