A Cost Comparison for Telehealth Utilization in the Kidney Transplant Waitlist Evaluation Process.

Background: There have been limited publications on telehealth utilization in transplantation with no prior reports of telehealth-related costs for pretransplant evaluations. The aim of this study is to compare costs throughout the evaluation process for those patients assessed initially by telehealth to those seen in-person. Methods: All patients approved for kidney transplant waitlist evaluation at our center from March 2013 thru May 2016 with decisions were included in this study. Patients approved for evaluation were scheduled for either an initial telehealth or in-person visit, partly based on patient factors. Clinically-related and travel-related costs were calculated. Time estimates for patient time needed to complete visit, time from application approval to initial visit, and time from application approval to decision were obtained. Comparisons were made using t tests. Results: Thirty-nine months were included for 302 patients. All categories of clinically or travel-related costs were significantly less for the telehealth cohort (p

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