Micheletti Megan, Brukilacchio Briana H, Hooper-Boyle Haley, Basiru Tajudeen, Brinster Meredith I, Ravenscroft Sheri, Shahidullah Jeffrey D
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E Dean Keeton St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Maguire Road, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2025 May;55(5):1932-1938. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-05986-9. Epub 2023 Apr 19.
Given existing barriers to a timely autism diagnosis, this study compares the efficiency and equity of diagnoses conducted in-person vs. telehealth in a developmental behavioral pediatrics setting. The transition to telehealth was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven months of clinic data in electronic medical records were retrospectively analyzed for children diagnosed with autism in-person (N = 71) vs. telehealth (N = 45). Time to autism diagnosis, patient demographics, and deferred diagnoses did not significantly differ across visit types. However, privately insured patients and families living farther from the clinic had a longer time to diagnosis via telehealth vs. in-person. Results of this exploratory study highlight the feasibility of telehealth evaluations for autism and which families may benefit from additional support to ensure a timely diagnosis.
鉴于目前自闭症及时诊断存在障碍，本研究比较了在发育行为儿科学环境中进行面对面诊断与远程医疗诊断的效率和公平性。向远程医疗的转变是由 COVID-19 大流行引发的。对电子病历中 11 个月的临床数据进行了回顾性分析，这些数据涉及通过面对面诊断自闭症的儿童（N = 71）和通过远程医疗诊断自闭症的儿童（N = 45）。自闭症诊断时间、患者人口统计学特征和延迟诊断在不同就诊类型之间没有显著差异。然而，与面对面诊断相比，通过远程医疗进行诊断时，有私人保险的患者以及居住在离诊所较远地区的家庭诊断时间更长。这项探索性研究的结果凸显了自闭症远程医疗评估的可行性，以及哪些家庭可能需要额外支持以确保及时诊断。
