Role and impact of telemedicine in spine surgery: a systematic review

Hussayn Shinwari ¹, Abith Ganesh Kamath ², Saran Singh Gill ²

⁰Faculty of Medicine, St George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Efort Open Reviews +

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December 5, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Telemedicine in spinal surgery shows high accuracy and patient satisfaction, improving outcomes and access. Challenges like technology barriers remain, but it promises to transform care.

Area Of Science

Spinal Surgery
Health Informatics
Digital Health

Background

Telemedicine is increasingly utilized in healthcare.
Its application in spinal surgery requires systematic evaluation.
Understanding its impact on patient care and resource utilization is crucial.

Purpose Of The Study

To systematically review the impact of telemedicine on clinical outcomes in spinal surgery.
To assess patient satisfaction and healthcare resource use associated with telemedicine.
To identify benefits, challenges, and future research directions for telemedicine in this field.

Main Methods

Systematic literature search of major databases (PubMed/MedLine, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase).
Screening and selection using Covidence.
Qualitative synthesis following SWiM guidelines due to study heterogeneity.

Main Results

37 studies involving 91,139 patients met inclusion criteria.
Telemedicine demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (>90% concordance).
High patient satisfaction (86.9-96.4%), improved adherence, pain management, functional outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility were observed.

Conclusions

Telemedicine significantly enhances spinal surgery care with high accuracy and patient satisfaction.
It improves clinical outcomes, compliance, cost-effectiveness, and access.
Further research is needed to address technological barriers and study heterogeneity.

Keywords:

digital health patient outcomes postoperative care rehabilitation remote consultation spine surgery telehealth telemedicine