CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Telemedicine, which is when patients visit a doctor via phone or video chat, is often billed as more convenient and less expensive than going to the office, but those virtual visits could be having unintended consequences.
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A new study published in the journal Pediatrics found kids seen in telemedicine visits are far more likely to be prescribed antibiotics than those who went to an office or clinic.
Researchers said many of the prescriptions disregard medical guidelines, raising the risk they could cause side effects or help germs build resistance to antibiotics.
The study looked at more than 340,000 insured children who had acute respiratory illness medical visits in 2015 and 2016.
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According to the research, children were prescribed antibiotics more than half the time during telemedicine visits compared to 42 percent at urgent care clinics and 31 percent at doctors’ offices.
"I understand the desire for care that's more convenient and timely," said the study's lead author, Dr. Kristin Ray of the University of Pittsburgh. "But we want to make sure that we don't sacrifice quality or safety or effectiveness in the process."
The study also found four out of 10 telemedicine doctors failed to meet guidelines in matching treatment to diagnosis.
Doctors were prescribing antibiotics to treat viral illnesses like colds and flu, but those drugs only work on bacterial illnesses.
Researchers also said telemedicine doctors appeared to be ignoring other guidelines. For example, doctors are supposed to take a throat swab and run a lab test before diagnosing strep throat, but that rarely happened in telemedicine visits, according to Ray.
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Despite some push back from medical experts, telemedicine is becoming increasingly popular.
"Telemedicine is going to grow. It's going to become a more routine part of people's medical care," said Jason Doctor, a University of Southern California health policy and economics researcher.
Doctor is trying to find ways to improve antibiotic prescribing during telemedicine visits.
Cox Media Group
