Asynchronous Virtual Follow Up For Chronically Ill Patients Reduces Physician Time

Primary care professionals who set up asynchronous “virtual” follow-up visits with patients who had chronic illnesses significantly reduced the time they spent assessing the patients’ need for follow-up care compared to the amount of time needed for an office visit to do so. The virtual visit is an asynchronous, rather than a real-time, telehealth visit in that the patient completes an assessment questionnaire, which is later reviewed by the physician. The questionnaire took patients an average of eight minutes to complete. Physicians completed the “virtual” visit review in an average of 3.6 minutes, including time for . . .