{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T18:54:31Z","timestamp":1782845671659,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Med Internet Res"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Recommendations for health care digitization as issued with the Riyadh Declaration led to an uptake in telemedicine to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluations based on clinical data are needed to support stakeholders\u2019 decision-making on the long-term implementation of digital health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This health economic evaluation aims to provide the first German analysis of the suitability of video consultations in the follow-up care of patients in orthopedic and trauma surgery, investigate the financial impact on hospital operations and personnel costs, and provide a basis for decisions on digitizing outpatient care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a randomized controlled trial that evaluated video consultations versus face-to-face consultations in the follow-up care of patients in orthopedic and trauma surgery at a German university hospital. We recruited 60 patients who had previously been treated conservatively or surgically for various knee or shoulder injuries. A digital health app and a browser-based software were used to conduct video consultations. The suitability of telemedicine was assessed using the Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire and the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Economic analyses included average time spent by physician per consultation, associated personnel costs and capacities for additional treatable patients, and the break-even point for video consultation software fees.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>After 4 withdrawals in each arm, data from a total of 52 patients (telemedicine group: n=26; control group: n=26) were used for our analyses. In the telemedicine group, 77% (20\/26) of all patients agreed that telemedicine provided for their health care needs, and 69% (18\/26) found telemedicine an acceptable way to receive health care services. In addition, no significant difference was found in the change of patient utility between groups after 3 months (mean 0.02, SD 0.06 vs mean 0.07, SD 0.17; P=.35). Treatment duration was significantly shorter in the intervention group (mean 8.23, SD 4.45 minutes vs mean 10.92, SD 5.58 minutes; P=.02). The use of telemedicine saved 25% (\u20ac2.14 [US $2.35]\/\u20ac8.67 [US $9.53]) in personnel costs and increased the number of treatable patients by 172 annually, assuming 2 hours of video consultations per week. Sensitivity analysis for scaling up video consultations to 10% of the hospital\u2019s outpatient cases resulted in personnel cost savings of \u20ac73,056 (US $ 80,275.39) for a senior physician. A total of 23 video consultations per month were required to recoup the software fees of telemedicine through reduced personnel costs (break-even point ranging from 12-38 in the sensitivity analysis).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study supports stakeholders\u2019 decision-making on the long-term implementation of digital health by demonstrating that video consultations in the follow-up care of patients in orthopedic and trauma surgery result in cost savings and productivity gains for clinics with no negative impact on patient utility.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Trial Registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023445; https:\/\/drks.de\/search\/en\/trial\/DRKS00023445<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/46714","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,25]],"date-time":"2023-12-25T10:15:37Z","timestamp":1703499337000},"page":"e46714","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Digitization of Follow-Up Care in Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery With Video Consultations: Health Economic Evaluation Study From a Health Provider\u2019s Perspective"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1563-0078","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Muschol","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0858-1551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"Heinrich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9593-162X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Heiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1132-5794","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alher Mauricio","family":"Hernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9864-547X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gero","family":"Knapp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6979-6807","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Holger","family":"Repp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9958-4434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henning","family":"Schneider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8935-4731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ulrich","family":"Thormann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7270-8946","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johanna","family":"Uhlar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6391-0031","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kai","family":"Unzeitig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6656-0877","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Gissel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcot.2021.03.015"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1357633X16674087"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2106\/JBJS.20.00452"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amsu.2021.102378"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjhci-2020-100166"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/19745"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00402-021-03788-1"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)31978-4"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arth.2020.04.038"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"OECDHealth expenditure and financing: health expenditure indicators. 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