Virtual Pediatric Emergency Department Telehealth Network Program: A Case Series

Trends in pediatric emergency department transfers from Indian Health Service and tribal health systems

OBJECTIVE

To describe the frequency and observed trends for all Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal emergency department (ED) transfers to a pediatric referral center from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, with a secondary analysis to describe trends in final dispositions, lengths of stay (LOS), and the most common primary ICD-10 diagnoses.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective chart review of IHS and tribal ED transfers to a pediatric referral center from 2017 to 2020 (n = 2433). The data were summarized using frequencies and percentages and we used generalized estimating equations to analyze patient characteristics over time.

RESULTS

IHS and tribal ED transfers accounted for 6.5%-7.1% of all transfers each year between 2017 and 2020 without significant changes over time. Within this group, 60% were admitted and 62% experienced a LOS greater than 24 h. The most common diagnostic code groups for these patients were respiratory conditions, injuries and poisonings, nonspecific abnormal clinical findings and labs, digestive system diseases, and nervous system diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

This study addresses important knowledge gaps regarding transfers from IHS and tribal EDs, highlights potential high-impact areas for pediatric readiness, and emphasizes the need for more granular data to inform resource allocation and educational interventions. Further studies are needed to delineate potentially avoidable transfers seen within this population.

Modern Paediatric Emergency Department: Potential Improvements in Light of New Evidence

The increasing attendance of paediatric emergency departments has become a serious health issue. To reduce an elevated burden of medical errors, inevitably caused by a high level of stress exerted on emergency physicians, we propose potential areas for improvement in regular paediatric emergency departments. In an effort to guarantee the demanded quality of care to all incoming patients, the workflow in paediatric emergency departments should be sufficiently optimised. The key component remains to implement one of the validated paediatric triage systems upon the patient's arrival at the emergency department and fast-tracking patients with a low level of risk according to the triage system. To ensure the patient's safety, emergency physicians should follow issued guidelines. Cognitive aids, such as well-designed checklists, posters or flow charts, generally improve physicians' adherence to guidelines and should be available in every paediatric emergency department. To sharpen diagnostic accuracy, the use of ultrasound in a paediatric emergency department, according to ultrasound protocols, should be targeted to answer specific clinical questions. Combining all mentioned improvements might reduce the number of errors linked to overcrowding. The review serves not only as a blueprint for modernising paediatric emergency departments but also as a bin of useful literature which can be suitable in the paediatric emergency field.

Pediatric Telehealth Use in U.S. Emergency Departments in 2019

Objectives: Little is known about the recent usage of pediatric telehealth across all emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. Building upon our prior work, we aimed to characterize the usage of ED pediatric telehealth in the pre-COVID-19 era. Methods: The 2019 National ED Inventory-USA survey characterized all U.S. EDs open in 2019. Among EDs reporting receipt of pediatric telehealth services, we selected a random sample (n = 130) for a second survey on pediatric telehealth usage (2019 ED Pediatric Telehealth Survey). We also recontacted a random sample of EDs that responded to a prior, similar 2017 ED Pediatric Telehealth Survey (n = 107), for a total of 237 EDs in the 2019 ED Pediatric Telehealth Survey sample. Results: Overall, 193 (81%) of the 237 EDs responded to the 2019 Pediatric Telehealth Survey. There were 149 responding EDs that confirmed pediatric telehealth receipt in 2019. Among these, few reported ever having a pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physician (10%) or pediatrician (9%) available for emergency care. Although 96% of EDs reported availability of pediatric telehealth services 24 h per day, 7 days per week, the majority (60%) reported using services less than once per month and 20% reported using services every 3-4 weeks. EDs most frequently used pediatric telehealth to assist with placement and transfer coordination (91%). Conclusions: Most EDs receiving pediatric telehealth in 2019 had no PEM physician or pediatrician available. Most EDs used pediatric telehealth services infrequently. Understanding barriers to assimilation of telehealth once adopted may be important to enable improved access to pediatric emergency care expertise.

Implementation of an emergency department virtual follow-up care process in a community-based hospital: a quality improvement initiative

During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients were apprehensive to seek acute care resulting in delayed diagnoses of serious conditions and reduction in emergency room (ER) visits by 50% in the Fraser Health Authority. Patients who did present to the ER left prior to their results being available and some refused admission and critical treatments.

At the Chilliwack General Hospital ER, a virtual care clinic was established to follow-up on patients after their initial ER visit, providing test results and ensuring patients are not clinically deteriorating at home. Specific criteria were created for safe referral to virtual follow-up. For 2 hours daily, an ER physician contacts selected patients by telephone to provide a virtual follow-up based on the patients’ needs.

Through the emergency department virtual care (EVC) pilot project, from May 14 to August 31, 2020, on average 58 telehealth visits were conducted weekly, with 19% of visits reaching unattached patients without a regular primary care provider. A patient survey revealed that 75% of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied with telephone virtual care as a follow-up to their emergency department (ED) visit, while 95% would like to continue to receive telephone follow-up care. Additionally, based on a physician survey, 80% of providers were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall EVC experience. The majority (80%) would like to continue to provide the service. One patient was referred for a virtual care follow-up for imaging results that did not meet the referral criteria; the patient was diagnosed with a perforated appendicitis. They had an atypical presentation of abdominal pain and their care was delayed by several hours than if they were to present to the ED for in-person follow-up. The process and referral criteria may require minor modification and must be followed strictly to ensure safety and efficiency in providing telehealth follow-up in the acute care setting.

Advanced imaging use and payment trends in a large pediatric accountable care organization

BACKGROUND

Pediatric imaging use and payment trends in accountable care organizations (ACOs) are seldom studied but are important for health policy decisions and resource allocation.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate patterns of advanced imaging use and associated payments over a 7-year period at a large ACO in the USA serving a Medicaid population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We reviewed paid claims data from 2011 through 2017 from an ACO, analyzing the MRI, CT and US use trends and payments from emergency department (ED) and outpatient encounters. We defined "utilization rate" as the number of advanced imaging procedures per 100 enrolled children per calendar year. Average yearly utilization and payments trends were analyzed using Pearson correlation.

RESULTS

Across 7 years, 186,552 advanced imaging procedures were performed. The average overall utilization rate was 6.99 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.9-7.1). In the ED this was 2.7 (95% CI: 2.6-2.8) and in outpatients 4.3 (95% CI: 4.2-4.3). The overall utilization rate grew by 0.7% yearly (P=0.077), with US growing the most at 4.0% annually (P=0.0005), especially in the ED in the US, where it grew 10.8% annually (P=0.000019). The overall payments were stable from 2011 to 2017, with outpatient MRI seeing the largest payment decrease at 1.8% (P=0.24) and ED US showing the most growth at 3.3% (P=0.00016). Head CT and abdominal US were the two most common procedures.

CONCLUSION

Over the study period, advanced imaging utilization at this large pediatric ACO serving the Medicaid population increased, especially with US use in the ED. Overall payments related to advanced imaging remained stable over this period.

Virtual care in the pediatric emergency department: a new way of doing business?

Objectives

To understand the feasibility, utilization rate, and satisfaction of the first Virtual Pediatric ED (V-PED) in Canada.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study examining the feasibility and impact of virtual care as an adjunct to in-person emergency care at a tertiary pediatric hospital from May to July 2020. Children (< 18 years) from Ontario and Quebec seeking V-PED care were included. A secure, encrypted, video platform within the hospital’s electronic medical record was used. Caregivers self-determined appropriateness of V-PED using a standardized online triage questionnaire to request their appointment. The V-PED is directly launched from the patient’s chart and the family joins the portal via hyperlink. Outcome measures included the number of V-PED visits, hospital admission rates, and caregiver satisfaction using a 10-item voluntary post-visit online survey.

Results

A total of 1036 V-PED visits were seen of which 176 (17.0%) were referred for further in-person ED assessment, and 8 (0.8%) required hospital admission. Of the 107 completing patient experience surveys (10% response), most respondents (69%) endorsed they “very likely” or “definitely” would have presented in-person to the ED if V-PED were unavailable. Overall satisfaction was rated as excellent (9 or 10 out of 10) in 87% of respondents.

Conclusion

Our novel V-PED is feasible, has high caregiver satisfaction, and can reduce the burden of in-person ED visits. Future work must ensure the safety of emergency virtual care and examine how to increase capacity and integrate V-PED within traditional emergency medicine.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s43678-020-00048-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.