Teledoc Health https://www.teledochealth.com is working with the University of Southern California (USC) Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and Northwestern University to develop the first large scale study to assess antibiotic prescribing practices used in telehealth.
Today, an estimated one in three of all outpatient antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily resulting in the rise of dangerous Antibiotic Resistant (AR) “super bugs” infecting at least two million people in the U.S, according to the CDC.
The five year study is funded through a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) https://www.ahrq.gov within HHS as part of the “National Action Plan for “Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria” (CARB). The study is expected to add specific standards for telehealth and virtual care.
The study will include the largest ever randomized quality improvement trial in telehealth and will look at the key factors that influence antibiotic prescribing in a virtual care setting. By studying existing prescribing behavior, the team will then be able to adapt and develop further processes and define how novel behavioral science interventions can encourage safe and effective antibiotic use.