• Posted February 1, 2026

New Guide Aims to Improve UTI Care as Telehealth Use Grows

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, send millions of Americans to urgent care every year. But today, many people no longer see a doctor in person.

Instead, they message their clinic, use video visits or fill out online forms to get antibiotics, sometimes without any testing at all.

Experts say this faster access can help patients, but it also raises concerns about underusing urine cultures, overprescribing antibiotics and other inappropriate care.

That can lead to drug-resistant “superbugs” and missed diagnoses, especially for folks who get UTIs often.

Now, researchers from the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan have released a new national guide to help clinicians decide when to test and when to treat suspected UTIs.

The guide was published Jan. 29 in JAMA Network Open.

“UTIs are one of the most common reasons why American patients are prescribed antibiotics, and we’re seeing more resistant bacteria than ever," lead author Dr. Jennifer Meddings said in a news release. She’s a primary care doctor and patient safety researcher at the Ann Arbor VA.

The Ann Arbor Guide to Triaging Adults with Suspected UTI includes two step-by-step tools: One for non-pregnant women and one for men. The guides help providers figure out what tests to order and when antibiotics are truly needed.

Meddings said virtual care and “doc-in-a-box” services have made it easier for patients to get prescriptions, sometimes just by answering a questionnaire.

“Now, far fewer patients are being seen in person in a setting where a urine sample can be collected, cultured and used by the same provider as the basis for a treatment recommendation a few days later,” she said.

“So it’s more important than ever for providers to know which patients can safely receive antibiotics empirically – that is, without a urine culture and not just a dipstick test or no test.”

The guide also covers more complex cases, including patients who have had organ transplants, chemotherapy, kidney disease or frequent UTIs. It also helps doctors spot symptoms that may signal something more serious, like kidney infections or sepsis.

The researchers warn that at-home UTI tests sold online or in stores are not accurate enough to confirm an infection. Even quick urine tests done in clinics can give false positives.

Because of this, the guide encourages urine cultures whenever possible, especially for men and women who get UTIs often.

“We hope that this guide will help both patients and providers be aware that even though they’re now able to take a questionnaire or interact with a provider completely virtually, that alone may not be enough to get the right diagnosis or treatment,” Meddings said.

“At the same time, we recognize that telehealth has removed barriers to care such as access to transportation, time off from work and caregiving, and more,” she added.

The guide provides for prescribing antibiotics without testing in certain situations, such as when patients live far from a lab or can’t travel within three days.

Veterans Affairs hospitals are already piloting the guide during telehealth visits.

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on telehealth.

SOURCE: Michigan Medicine-University of Michigan, news release, Jan. 28, 2026