The Use of Remote Consultations and Associated Factors in Rheumatology: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study of Follow-Up Consultations Before, During, and After COVID-19.

Objective: To investigate the use of remote consultations (RCs) and the influence of consultation, health care provider (HCP), and patient characteristics on the choice for remote or face-to-face consultation.

Methods: A monocenter retrospective cohort study was conducted on follow-up consultations of patients with rheumatic diseases from January 1, 2019 to January 16, 2023, using data from electronic health records. Trends in the proportion of RCs before, during, and after COVID-19 were studied. Cross-classified multilevel logistic regression models were built to account for clustering of consultations (level 1) within both patients and HCPs (level 2). The influence of consultation, patient, and HCP characteristics on the type of consultation was assessed.

Results: 157,028 consultations of 30,215 unique patients seen by 64 HCPs were included in the data set. After an initial sharp increase in RC use at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of RCs decreased toward a seemingly steady state at around 30%. 90% of the variance in the use of RCs can be attributed to the consultation level, whereas 4% and 6% can be attributed to the patient and HCP level. Longer consultation durations and time since last consultation decreased the odds for a RC, as did higher patient age, shared care, and longer disease duration. Higher travel distance, consultation density, and patient digital access increased the odds for a RC.

Conclusion: The COVID pandemic resulted in a structural increase in the use of RCs. Although several patient characteristics are associated with the type of consultation, most variance resulted from consultation characteristics compared with patients and HCPs.