SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2020
Impact of Remote Consultations on Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Health Care: Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07200401 (A Feasibility Study to Explore the Safety, Acceptability and Potential Cost Effectiveness of Self-swabbing at Home to Obtain Usable Surgical Wound Culture Swabs), which is not on this map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Feasibility Study to Explore the Safety, Acceptability and Potential Cost Effectiveness of Self-swabbing at Home to Obtain Usable Surgical Wound Culture Swabs
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Understanding How the Design and Implementation of Online Consultations Affect Primary Care Quality: Systematic Review of Evidence With Recommendations for Designers, Providers, and Researchers.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance Dynamics Across Healthcare Level: Global Evidence and Stewardship Implications.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Remote versus in-person consultations for acute cystitis: antibiotic treatment and clinical outcomes, a retrospective cohort study.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Challenging assumptions: a tripartite assessment of medical quality, resource utilization, and equity concerns in pediatric telemedicine.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infection in Telehealth Versus Face-to-Face Consultations: Cross-Sectional Analysis of General Practice Registrars' Clinical Practice.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic prescription rates in out-of-hours primary care - a register-based study in Denmark.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Uses of Virtual Care in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Article
- Quality of the digital gp visits and characteristics of the users: retrospective observational study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Observational
- How, why and when are delayed (back-up) antibiotic prescriptions used in primary care? A realist review integrating concepts of uncertainty in healthcare.BMC public health · 2024Review
- Interprofessional team training via telemedicine in medical and nursing education.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Incidence of remote consultation on general practitioners' antibiotic prescriptions in 2021: a French observational study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Antibiotic Prescribing by Digital Health Care Providers as Compared to Traditional Primary Health Care Providers: Cohort Study Using Register Data.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Paediatric antibiotic prescribing in a nationwide direct-to-consumer telemedicine platform in France, 2018-2021.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Diagnosis and management of acute infections during telehealth consultations in Australian general practice: a qualitative study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Article
- eHealth in the Management of Depressive Episodes in Catalonia's Primary Care From 2017 to 2022: Retrospective Observational Study.JMIR mental health · 2024Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere has been growing international interest in performing remote consultations in primary care, particularly amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the evidence surrounding the safety of remote consultations is inconclusive. The appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in remote consultations is an important aspect of patient safety that needs to be addressed.
objectiveThis study aimed to summarize evidence on the impact of remote consultation in primary care with regard to antibiotic prescribing.
methodsSearches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, HMIC, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for literature published since the databases' inception to February 2020. Peer-reviewed studies conducted in primary health care settings were included. All remote consultation types were considered, and studies were required to report any quantitative measure of antibiotic prescribing to be included in this systematic review. Studies were excluded if there were no comparison groups (face-to-face consultations).
resultsIn total, 12 studies were identified. Of these, 4 studies reported higher antibiotic-prescribing rates, 5 studies reported lower antibiotic-prescribing rates, and 3 studies reported similar antibiotic-prescribing rates in remote consultations compared with face-to-face consultations. Guideline-concordant prescribing was not significantly different between remote and face-to-face consultations for patients with sinusitis, but conflicting results were found for patients with acute respiratory infections. Mixed evidence was found for follow-up visit rates after remote and face-to-face consultations.
conclusionsThere is insufficient evidence to confidently conclude that remote consulting has a significant impact on antibiotic prescribing in primary care. However, studies indicating higher prescribing rates in remote consultations than in face-to-face consultations are a concern. Further, well-conducted studies are needed to inform safe and appropriate implementation of remote consulting to ensure that there is no unintended impact on antimicrobial resistance.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.