In-person visits to your doctor better than telehealth, Harvard study finds

BOSTON - Going to see your doctor in the office may be more beneficial for your health than seeing them online.

Telehealth filled a crucial void during the pandemic and continues to be an option for patients in many situations, but a new study finds that in-person visits are superior when it comes to patient follow-up. 

Researchers at Harvard looked at more than four-thousand diagnostic tests and referrals for specialty care such as colonoscopies, cardiac stress tests, and dermatology appointments and found that while the completion rate was low regardless of visit type, 58-percent of those ordered while a patient was in a provider's office were completed compared to only 43-percent if they were ordered during a telehealth visit. 

Clearly, primary care offices need to address problems with closing the diagnostic loop, in general, but especially for patients who are seen virtually. 

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• Health

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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