2025/11/19 by Kun Zhang, Yanhua Chen, Peicheng Wang +7 · 1 voice
Medicine · #Chronic Disease Management Strategies #Diabetes Management and Education #Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
paper · doi:10.1016/j.imed.2025.01.002
openalex created_date 2025/11/19 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Telemedicine has gained prominence in managing chronic diseases, particularly post-COVID-19. However, interventions often lack consistent categorization based on patient engagement levels, and evidence of efficacy remains heterogeneous. This review synthesizes findings from systematic reviews to evaluate the benefits and challenges of telemedicine for chronic disease management. A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science was conducted to identify systematic reviews with meta-analyses published between January 2022 and December 2024. The Triple Aim framework was utilized to assess telemedicine’s impact on clinical outcomes, patient experience, and healthcare costs. A framework for digital patient engagement levels was developed to explore the relationship between engagement levels and intervention effectiveness. A total of 81 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 31% focused on cardiovascular diseases, 30% on diabetes, 28% on cancer, 4% on chronic lung diseases, and 7% on general chronic conditions. Intervention levels were categorized as consultation (9%), involvement (42%), partnership/shared leadership (13%), or unspecified (36%). Clinical outcomes were reported in 61 reviews, patient-reported outcomes in 23, and economic impacts in only 4 reviews, indicating substantial research gaps. Telemedicine enhances patient care experiences and population health, demonstrating significant benefits in managing diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, and chronic lung diseases. It holds considerable potential for reducing healthcare costs. However, further research is needed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of telemedicine across different engagement levels. Standardized methodologies and improved tools are essential to advance telemedicine research and implementation.