A Pediatric Telemedicine Response to a Natural Disaster

Background:Hurricane Irma, a catastrophic Category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida on September 10, 2017. Nemours CareConnect (NCC) offered direct-to-consumer (DTC) pediatric telemedicine during Hurricane Irma.

Introduction:Although other programs have examined disaster response and postdisaster recovery by using telemedicine, no studies report use of a pediatric-specific, DTC platform during all three phases of disaster management.

Materials and Methods:This IRB-approved study is a retrospective analysis of NCC’s audio-visual telemedicine encounters performed on September 8–16, 2017.

Results:From September 8 to 16, 2017, NCC recorded 262 completed telemedicine visits. The mean wait time was 12.23 ± 14.4 min. The mean length of the telemedicine encounter was 10.12 ± 4.42 min. Most telemedicine visits occurred on the day before the storm (27.9%), followed by the day after the storm (19.5%). Most common chief complaints were upper respiratory symptoms (33.6%), skin-related concerns (19.1%), fever (16.8%), and gastrointestinal concerns (6.5%). Patient satisfaction remained high during the storm, for the provider as well as the platform.

Discussion:During Hurricane Irma, NCC offered accessible and efficient care to families who were impacted by the storm throughout Florida. Results suggest a differential pattern of use before the storm’s arrival, during, and immediately after the storm, which may be informative to other telemedicine providers.

Conclusion:Further research is needed on the integration of telemedicine into the disaster preparedness plans at a local, state, and national level to ensure maximum support for those families in need.