{"id":8540,"date":"2015-10-28T14:42:13","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T14:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edrugstore.md\/blog\/?p=8540"},"modified":"2015-10-28T19:22:54","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T19:22:54","slug":"how-telemedicine-is-helping-children-with-special-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/how-telemedicine-is-helping-children-with-special-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"How Telemedicine Is Helping Children with Special Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Researchers
Researchers have found that telemedicine is particularly effective in serving children with special health care needs, such as the boy in a wheelchair pictured here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A number of recent studies demonstrate that telemedicine — the use of technology to provide and coordinate health care remotely — is particularly effective in serving children with special health care needs. As effective as it is, however, much needs to be done to ensure that local, state, and federal authorities take full advantage of telemedicine\u2019s possibilities.<\/p>\n

In one such study, published in the August 2015 issue of \u201cTelemedicine and e-Health,\u201d<\/a> researchers at the University of Rochester studied the safety and effectiveness of using the Health-E-Access model at schools for children with special health needs. <\/p>\n

How the Program Works <\/b><\/p>\n

The Health-E-Access program, developed jointly by the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital, links a sick child and a telemedicine technician at a child care center with a physician or nurse practitioner at Golisano. The connection between the child care center and Golisano is made through a broadband digital communications link.<\/p>\n

Facilitating these consultations are kiosks at the child care centers that feature teleconferencing cameras that allow face-to-face communication as well as diagnostic tools. Such tools include stethoscopes that allow physicians or nurse practitioners to listen remotely to the heart and\/or lungs of patients, endoscopes for ear, nose, and throat exams, and high-powered cameras that can take and transmit high-quality still images of skin and eye problems.<\/p>\n

Objectives of the Study<\/b><\/p>\n

The purpose of the most recent study was to compare the efficacy and safety of Health-E-Access in schools for children with special needs with its performance in schools for normal children. Researchers note that while children with special health care needs make up only about 16 percent of the school-age population, they account for nearly half of all children\u2019s health expenses. Moreover, getting these special-needs children into a doctor\u2019s office presents a daunting problem for parents, either because of the child\u2019s anxiety and fear over a visit to the doctor or simple logistical problems.<\/p>\n

The University of Rochester researchers found that their telemedicine model performed as well or better for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) as for children in regular child care centers or schools (CRS). In fact, there was a 98.1 percent completion rate for telemedicine visits by CSHCN, slightly better than the completion rate of 97.6 percent for visits by CRS.<\/p>\n

Few Adverse Events<\/b><\/p>\n

Adverse events, while low for both groups, registered only 0.3 percent for children with special needs, compared with an adverse event rate of 0.5 percent for children in regular school. For the purposes of their study, researchers defined an adverse event as a visit to a hospital emergency room within three days of a telemedicine visit for a problem presumed to be related.<\/p>\n

\"Health
Health care professionals can examine and diagnose pediatric patients remotely using the cutting-edge technologies of telemedicine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the conclusion to their study, researchers reported that their \u201cobservations support [the] safety and effectiveness of Health-E-Access telemedicine for both CSHCN and CRS.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health-E-Access Profile <\/b><\/p>\n

In a 2011 profile of the Health-E-Access program, the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs<\/a>, based in Washington, D.C., notes that the program \u201cis targeted to Rochester\u2019s underserved inner-city population and to children with special health care needs throughout the Rochester region.\u201d The profile specified the objectives of Health-E-Access as follows:<\/p>\n