{"id":74984,"date":"2017-04-20T17:52:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T17:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/majority-of-parents-plan-to-use-telemedicine-for-pediatric-care\/"},"modified":"2017-04-20T17:52:44","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T17:52:44","slug":"majority-of-parents-plan-to-use-telemedicine-for-pediatric-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/majority-of-parents-plan-to-use-telemedicine-for-pediatric-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of parents plan to use telemedicine for pediatric care"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New findings released today by Nemours Children\u2019s Health System show 64 percent of parents polled have used or plan to use telemedicine within the next year for their child. The survey, Telemedicine in America 2017: Parents Use of Virtual Visits, found that only 15 percent of parents have tried these services, but a strong majority is receptive to online doctor visits for common childhood ailments and routine well-child visits.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cAs parents look to raise children with accessible and evidence-based health care, telemedicine can be a convenient and high-quality option for busy families,\u201d said Gina Altieri, CPA, Senior Vice President and Chief of Strategy Integration for Nemours. \u201cEven though use of telemedicine is climbing slowly, our findings show that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough in adoption as families are becoming more interested and accepting of receiving care virtually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared to a similar study conducted by Nemours in 2014, parents\u2019 use of online doctor\u2019s visits, while still relatively low, has grown by 125 percent, and their awareness of telemedicine services has increased 88 percent. While this survey\u2014fielded by Nemours\u2019 internal consumer and strategic insights group\u2014demonstrates the growing awareness and increasing acceptance of telemedicine, it also reveals the limited uses that parents consider for online visits. They are most willing to use telehealth services for cold and flu (58 percent), pink eye (51 percent), and rashes (48 percent), in addition to well-child visits (41 percent). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acute childhood ailments, such as these, accounted for an estimated 171 million in-office visits in 2012 for children under 18.<\/p>\n

Conversely, parents said they are more reluctant to consider telemedicine for treating chronic conditions. Those surveyed said they likely would never consider using telehealth services for diabetes (53 percent), asthma (43 percent), and ADHD (36 percent). Despite this hesitation, previous research published in Pediatrics has shown that these conditions that necessitate chronic care can be effectively treated through telemedicine.<\/p>\n

Many parents report that work schedules and time pressures create problems for securing in-office appointments. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents are likely to spend an average of 30 hours on well-child visits during their child\u2019s first five years alone. In the poll, parents who have used telemedicine cited convenience, after-hours accessibility, and immediacy as the top three reasons for doing so. A strong majority (74.7 percent) of these parents rated the experience as superior to an in-office doctor visit.<\/p>\n

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Jesse Smith of Orlando used Nemours CareConnect when her five-year-old son Parker became ill on a weekend. \u201cThe entire process from registering to connecting with the doctor was quick and easy. The care my son received was just what I\u2019d expect from an in-office visit but we were able to do it all from my couch. I will definitely use the service again,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n

Additional survey findings include:<\/p>\n