Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T09:03:34.832Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Low rates of antibiotics prescribed during telehealth primary-care visits persisted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2023

Robin L. P. Jump*
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nicole Mongilardi
Affiliation:
GRECC, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
Brigid M. Wilson
Affiliation:
GRECC, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
Taissa A. Bej
Affiliation:
GRECC, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio
Sunah Song
Affiliation:
Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
Corinne M. Kowal
Affiliation:
GRECC, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio
Federico Perez
Affiliation:
GRECC, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
Ukwen C. Akpoji
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland, Ohio (Present affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida [N.M.])]
*
Author for correspondence: Robin L. P. Jump, E-mail: robin.jump@va.gov

Abstract

For primary care clinics at a Veterans’ Affairs (VA) medical center, the shift from in-person to telehealth visits during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with low rates of antibiotic prescription. Understanding contextual factors associated with antibiotic prescription practices during telehealth visits may help promote antibiotic stewardship in primary care settings.

Type
Concise Communication
Creative Commons
This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Copyright
© Department of Veterans Affairs, 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

King, LM, Lovegrove, MC, Shehab, N, et al. Trends in US outpatient antibiotic prescriptions during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Clin Infect Dis 2021;73:e652e660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buehrle, DJ, Nguyen, MH, Wagener, MM, Clancy, CJ. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United States. Open Forum Infect Dis 2020;7:ofaa575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, SM, Greenfield, G, Majeed, A, Hayhoe, B. Impact of remote consultations on antibiotic prescribing in primary health care: systematic review. J Med Internet Res 2020;22:e23482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopp, F, Whitten, P, Subramanian, U, Woodbridge, P, Mackert, M, Lowery, J. Perspectives from the Veterans’ Health Administration about opportunities and barriers in telemedicine. J Telemed Telecare 2006;12:404409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Exempting in-home video telehealth from copayments. Direct final rule. Fed Regist 2012;77:1319513198.Google Scholar
VA reports significant increase in veteran use of telehealth services. Veterans’ Affairs Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs website. https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5365. Accessed January 24, 2023.Google Scholar
Chua, KP, Fischer, MA, Linder, JA. Appropriateness of outpatient antibiotic prescribing among privately insured US patients: ICD-10-CM based cross-sectional study. BMJ 2019;364.Google ScholarPubMed
Quan, H, Sundararajan, V, Halfon, P, et al. Coding algorithms for defining comorbidities in ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 administrative data. Med Care 2005;43:11301139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palms, DL, Hicks, LA, Bartoces, M, et al. Comparison of antibiotic prescribing in retail clinics, urgent care centers, emergency departments, and traditional ambulatory care settings in the United States. JAMA Intern Med 2018;178:12671269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agha, Z, Lofgren, RP, VanRuiswyk, JV, Layde, PM. Are patients at Veterans’ Affairs medical centers sicker? A comparative analysis of health status and medical resource use. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:32523257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dursa, EK, Barth, SK, Bossarte, RM, Schneiderman, AI. Demographic, military, and health characteristics of VA healthcare users and nonusers who served in or during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2009–2011. Public Health Rep 2016;131:839843.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Jump et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Jump et al. supplementary material(File)
File 33 KB