Objective:

Compare DTC telemedicine and in-person primary-care episodes for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in Sweden in terms of follow-up consultations, episode costs, and antibiotic prescribing.

Approach:

• Study context: The study examines Swedish DTC telemedicine use for URTIs, a common reason for primary-care visits and a focus of antibiotic stewardship.
• Population and comparison: The analysis uses patient-level information from urban and rural Sweden and includes patients aged 2 years or older; it compares DTC telemedicine episodes with in-person care episodes.
• Outcomes: Outcomes are follow-up consultations, episode costs, and antibiotic prescribing.

Interpretation:

The provided context describes the study rationale and objective but does not report its results.

Limitations:

• The supplied article context ends before the methods and results, so study estimates and findings cannot be summarized.

Sources:

• Article context supplied by the user