Telemedicine and in-person diagnoses of new clinical complaints yield high diagnostic concordance, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Bart M. Demaerschalk, MD, and colleagues compared the concordance of provisional diagnoses established at a video telemedicine visit with diagnoses established at an in-person visit for patients presenting with a new clinical problem. The analysis included 2,393 patients seen at multiple sites within a single healthcare system. The provisional diagnosis established over a video visit was concordant with the in-person reference standard diagnosis in 86.9% of cases. The concordance of diagnostic codes ranged from 64.7% for diseases of the ear and mastoid process to 96.8% for neoplasms. By specialty, diagnostic concordance ranged from 77.3% for otorhinolaryngology to 96.0% for psychiatry. Compared with primary care, specialty care was significantly more likely to result in video telemedicine diagnoses concordant with a subsequent in-person visit.
