Where the Pediatric Patients are

Jennifer McGuire is a director of health system solutions for American Well.

The U.S. News and World Report recently released its national ranking of the Best Children’s Hospitals. Always a go-to resource for learning about the most innovative and effective hospitals, the report gathers clinical data and compiles surveys from more than 10,000 pediatric specialists on where they would send the sickest children in their specialties. This year’s report is an impressive list of hospitals who are bringing new methods to care that improve health outcomes for children across the U.S.

Given our role in the healthcare spectrum, we congratulate all of the nearly 80 pediatric hospitals included, and we want to recognize the following hospitals:

• Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital
• Nemours, Orlando
• Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Miami
• Children’s Medical Dallas
• Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University Health

What do they all have in common?

Besides being the best of the best in caring for children in specific specialties, they all believe in the power of telehealth. American Well, in turn, powers that telehealth. We’re proud to support these health systems in the incredible work they’re doing on behalf of patients to improve care outcomes for everyone they serve.

Pediatrics is one of the many use cases we see our clients implementing in telehealth and it goes well beyond urgent care. Children’s Medical Dallas has a telehealth practice for their clinically integrated network doctors to use the platform for scheduled follow-up visits. Hospitals are using telehealth to treat pediatric patients for neurosurgery, nutrition education and orthopedics.

Here are a few specific and unique ways that pediatric hospitals are applying video visits for their patients.

Kiosks: making healthcare available where the parents are

Children’s Medical Dallas provides kiosks to its employees in two of its major acute care hospitals, providing streamlined care to the doctors, nurses and staff who serve pediatric patients each day. Our client Avera has placed telemedicine kiosks in grocery store chain Hy-Vee, providing video care to busy parents and children aged two and up while they’re at the store taking care of errands. Avera has also set up nutrition programs and health events in the stores to promote quick, seamless care to the moms that shop at Hy-Vee. If you’re interested in learning more about Avera’s kiosks, check out their telehealth case study.

Telemed Tablet: offering consults to school nurses

Children’s hospitals are benefiting from our Telemed Tablet in unique ways. The tablet is a unique tool enabling provider-to-provider consults via video right from the bedside of a patient. By placing tablets in schools, nurses can connect immediately with specialists who provide consults on medical issues that falls within their expertise. That specialist can recommend follow-up care or solve the issue right on the consult. This eliminates the need for a child to be transported to an emergency room or office visit when it might not be needed.

The Exchange: making world-class pediatricians available beyond geographic boundaries

Nemours is making its providers available through the American Well Exchange. The Exchange is a virtual storefront – enabling health systems to offer their healthcare services to patients across the American Well network. In the case of Nemours, this means that any patient who uses the Amwell app (American Well’s direct-to-consumer app) in Florida can see a Nemours provider. Nemours makes its physicians and clinicians available to a much wider audience, introducing new patients to its top-ranked doctors and services. For the physician, it is as easy as clicking from one virtual patient examination room to the next. Pediatric hospitals who choose to work with American Well have the opportunity to open up their services to many more pediatric patients who could benefit from that care.

Pediatrics is an area of growth and opportunity for telehealth, and in fact, the American Telemedicine Association has a Pediatric Telehealth Special Interest Group dedicated to educating other organizations on how to best implement a pediatric telehealth strategy. We salute all of our health systems recognized this year for their innovation and quality care and we celebrate the early adopter providers who see telehealth as an innovative, effective tool for enhancing outcomes for pediatric patients.