TY - JOUR
T1 - Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement
T2 - Telemedicine in obstetrics—quality and safety considerations
AU - Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)
AU - Patient Safety and Quality Committee
AU - Healy, Andrew
AU - Davidson, Christina
AU - Allbert, John
AU - Bauer, Samuel
AU - Toner, Lorraine
AU - Combs, C. Andrew
N1 - Funding Information:
All authors and Committee members have filed a disclosure of interests delineating personal, professional, business, or other relevant financial or nonfinancial interests in relation to this publication. Any substantial conflicts of interest have been addressed through a process approved by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Board of Directors. SMFM has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the specific content development of this publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - The frequency of telemedicine encounters has increased dramatically in recent years. This review summarizes the literature regarding the safety and quality of telemedicine for pregnancy-related services, including prenatal care, postpartum care, diabetes mellitus management, medication abortion, lactation support, hypertension management, genetic counseling, ultrasound examination, contraception, and mental health services. For many of these, telemedicine has several potential or proven benefits, including expanded patient access, improved patient satisfaction, decreased disparities in care delivery, and health outcomes at least comparable to those of traditional in-person encounters. Considering these benefits, it is suggested that payers should reimburse providers at least as much for telemedicine as for in-person services. Areas for future research are considered.
AB - The frequency of telemedicine encounters has increased dramatically in recent years. This review summarizes the literature regarding the safety and quality of telemedicine for pregnancy-related services, including prenatal care, postpartum care, diabetes mellitus management, medication abortion, lactation support, hypertension management, genetic counseling, ultrasound examination, contraception, and mental health services. For many of these, telemedicine has several potential or proven benefits, including expanded patient access, improved patient satisfaction, decreased disparities in care delivery, and health outcomes at least comparable to those of traditional in-person encounters. Considering these benefits, it is suggested that payers should reimburse providers at least as much for telemedicine as for in-person services. Areas for future research are considered.
KW - contraception
KW - diabetes mellitus management
KW - genetic counseling
KW - hypertension management
KW - lactation support
KW - medication abortion
KW - mental health services
KW - postpartum care
KW - prenatal care
KW - ultrasound examination
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146457573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.12.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85146457573
SN - 0002-9378
VL - 228
SP - B8-B17
JO - American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
JF - American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
IS - 3
ER -