As people seek to heed the call to stay home and abate COVID-19, telemedicine’s role in providing healthcare for children can become apparent. Telehealth enables parents to seek healthcare services for their children without necessarily making physical visits for face-to-face services. Through these virtual visits, pediatricians can perform some tests, treatments, and, where necessary, refer patients for more advanced care.
How Does Telemedicine Work?
To employ this technology, both the patient and doctor must have compelling video and audio sources. This means that telemedicine visits can be carried out over any device that has a webcam. Therefore, telephones, laptops, and computers can be used. To further enhance telemedicine visit effectiveness, there should be minimal or no distractions. The room where the child is should be well lit and private. A parent should also be within if the doctor needs help conducting a physical assessment on the child.
Are There Cases When Telemedicine is Not Suitable?
There is increased support for telemedicine in delivering patient care not only because of the risks caused by COVID-19 but also because this approach to healthcare delivery has proven viable for the future. Therefore, where suitable, available, and appropriate, pediatricians use telemedicine visits to guarantee continued care access. However, parents should note that if their child has alarming symptoms such as high fevers in infants or experiencing difficulty breathing, a face-to-face visit is essential. Physical visits should also be made if a child requires more detailed testing and exam than virtual visits.
What Should a Parent Consider?
If a parent needs to shift to telemedicine for their child’s healthcare service, they should, first, confirm with their pediatrician about the availability of such services. The pediatrician will also advise whether a virtual visit is a good idea for different children since they know their patients’ (children) health history. If a parent seeks virtual visit services from a new doctor, it is essential to cross-check the examiner’s accreditations, qualifications, and credentials. As technology permeates our lives in dimensions previously unfathomable, it has and will continue to transform child healthcare delivery through telemedicine.