Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Professor Carl May
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
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 T here is no good evidence that telemedicine is a cost effective means of delivering health care.
Author(s): Whitten PS, Mair FS, Haycox A, May CR, Williams TL, Hellmich S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Medical Journal
Year: 2002
Volume: 324
Issue: 7351
Pages: 1434-1437
ISSN (print): 0007-1447
ISSN (electronic): 1756-1833
Publisher: BMJ Group
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7351.1434
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.324.7351.1434
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
