Potential Risks of Direct-to-Consumer Pediatric Telemedicine Visits

Commercial companies now offer acute pediatric care via direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine visits with physicians who are outside of the child's medical home. The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Telemedicine Association have cautioned that because such care lacks continuity and access to the child's past medical history, it could lead to lower quality of care, especially in nonverbal children.

To test this hypothesis, researchers used commercial health plan claims data to compare children's receipt of antibiotics for acute respiratory infection from 4600 DTC telemedicine visits, 38,400 urgent care visits, and 485,200 primary care pediatrician (PCP) visits. Patients were newborn to age 17 years. Children with chronic conditions…