Telehealth Versus In-Person Care: A Systematic Review of Appointment Attendance and Engagement in Vulnerable Communities.
Madison Sigler, Elly Georgas, Hyrum Brodniak
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review compared objective appointment attendance with telehealth versus in-person care among underserved populations, including rural, low-income, Medicaid-insured, and racial and ethnic minority groups. Seventeen studies covering over 2.5 million encounters were included. Telehealth was consistently associated with fewer missed appointments across settings; in one large safety-net system, no-show rates fell from 25.1% to 14.6%. The review also reported a narrower primary-care visit-completion gap between Black and non-Black patients with telehealth, alongside higher completion in some specialty applications.
Key findings
- Across 17 studies and over 2.5 million encounters, telehealth was consistently associated with reduced no-show rates.
- In a large safety-net system, no-show rates decreased from 25.1% to 14.6%.
- In primary care, telehealth narrowed the visit-completion gap between Black and non-Black patients by 11.7 percentage points.
- Postpartum monitoring and HIV care were among specialty settings reporting higher visit completion with telehealth.
Why it matters
Missed appointments can impede access to care, particularly where transportation and socioeconomic barriers are common. These findings suggest telehealth may support appointment adherence and reduce some attendance disparities in underserved populations. The review focuses on utilization outcomes, offering evidence relevant to access planning while not establishing effects on clinical outcomes.
What to keep in mind
The review reports associations across included studies; the abstract does not establish that telehealth caused improved attendance or provide details on study designs and comparability.