Implementation of a Pediatric Emergency Telemedicine Program.
Publication Type | Academic Article |
Authors | Kim J, Friedman J, Clark S, Hafeez B, Listman D, Lame M, Eid D, Sharma R, Platt S |
Journal | Pediatr Emerg Care |
Volume | 36 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | e104-e107 |
Date Published | 02/01/2020 |
ISSN | 1535-1815 |
Keywords | Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Telemedicine |
Abstract | OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to describe the experiences after the launch of a pediatric emergency telemedicine program at a large, urban, academic medical center. METHODS: We launched 3 unique pediatric emergency telemedicine programs at an urban, academic medical center: direct-to-consumer pediatric virtual urgent care, pediatric emergency department (PED) telemedicine follow-up, and telemedicine medical screening examination in the PED. RESULTS: We evaluated 84 patients via direct-to-consumer pediatric virtual urgent care with the most common chief complaint related to fever, dermatologic, or respiratory systems; we referred 12% to the PED, and 20% of those required hospital admission. We evaluated 38 patients via PED telemedicine follow-up; we referred 19% back to the PED, and 43% of those required hospital admission. Median duration for a telemedicine encounter was 10 minutes. We screened 3809 patients in the PED using telemedicine medical screening examination. CONCLUSIONS: We offer a description of an innovative and comprehensive new pediatric emergency telemedicine program implemented at a large, urban, academic medical center. Our initial findings demonstrate short visit times, antibiotic stewardship, and low rates of PED referral and subsequent admission for patients who use a telemedicine service. We plan to further examine the impact of pediatric emergency telemedicine on the care of children as our program expands. |
DOI | 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002044 |
PubMed ID | 31929395 |