Children & Telehealth

A Pacific Rim Department of Defense study found that telehealth cuts pediatric costs; reducing spending by as much as $750,000 annually.  Not surprisingly, reductions were most notable in remote areas where pediatric specialists are not available.  The also found that:

• The online consult resulted in a change in diagnosis or treatment of the patient in 74% of the time
• Physicians resolved the patient’s primary problem 60% of the time
• The telehealth consult kept patients from having to be transferred to larger facilities 43% of the time

One example of where I can really see it being beneficial is with stroke, which is increasingly being recognized in children.  But, diagnosis and management can be difficult, so telehealth presents an excellent opportunity to connect children with needed pediatric neurologists.