by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | July 21, 2025
Telemedicine visits were associated with significantly lower use of diagnostic imaging compared to in-person appointments, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Researchers analyzed 2021 claims data from over 23 million office visits and found that patients seen via telemedicine were nearly 30% less likely to undergo imaging in the days following their appointments.
The analysis was led by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute using data from the Optum deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart Database, which includes records from commercial and Medicare Advantage plans. Researchers matched telemedicine and in-person visits by patient demographics, provider type, and visit characteristics to isolate differences in imaging rates.
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“We found that diagnostic imaging was nearly 30% less likely to occur following a telemedicine visit compared to an in-person visit,” said YoonKyung Chung, Ph.D., principal researcher at the Neiman HPI and lead author of the study. “This finding held true across all time periods evaluated, including imaging performed within 7, 14, and 30 days of the visit.”
Roughly 10% of the 23.4 million visits in the study were delivered via telemedicine. After adjusting for patient and provider characteristics, the 7-day imaging rate was 2.4 percentage points lower for telemedicine visits, representing a 29.7% relative reduction. While patients who did receive imaging following virtual visits had a slightly higher average number of studies, the difference was minimal, averaging just 0.02 more exams.
“This study suggests that telemedicine, at least during the pandemic period studied, is not associated with increased imaging utilization,” said Dr. Lauren Nicola, CEO of Triad Radiology Associates and study coauthor. “As policymakers and health systems consider the future of virtual care, it’s important to recognize that telemedicine may offer a way to deliver care without contributing to overuse of imaging.”
The researchers note that further investigation is needed to assess whether imaging use following telemedicine visits is appropriate and how it affects patient outcomes.
