Parent-Reported Use of Pediatric Primary Care Telemedicine: Survey Study

Comparing Telemedicine and In-Person Clinical Evaluations for Pediatric Urology Concerns

INTRODUCTION

Telemedicine may promote equitable health care delivery, particularly in rural and underserved regions. While patient and provider satisfaction with telemedicine appear to be high, it remains unclear if telemedicine accomplishes the same clinical goals as in-person clinic visits. We undertook this study to compare the differences in history-taking, physical examination, and recommended follow-up in new pediatric urology patients seen via telemedicine and in-person.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed by retrospectively reviewing the charts of all new patients visiting the general pediatric urology clinic at a single freestanding children's hospital in January and April of three consecutive years (2019, 2020, 2021). Data were abstracted on patient demographics, comprehensiveness of history of present illness, completeness of physical examination, and recommended follow-up. Patients seen by telemedicine and in-person were compared.

RESULTS

Of 1354 patients, 1244 (91.9%) had in-person and 110 (8.1%) telemedicine visits. Telemedicine patients had a median of 4 history of present illness components recorded; in-person patients had 3 (P < 0.0001). Patients seen in-person had a more comprehensive physical examination recorded compared with telemedicine patients (median 12 vs 2 systems, P < 0.0001). Significantly fewer telemedicine patients were discharged from clinic after the initial visit (2.7% vs 16.5%), and significantly more were asked to return for additional evaluation (39.1% vs 23.2, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Initial pediatric urology telemedicine consultations gathered more historical and fewer physical examination components and were more likely to require an additional clinic visit for evaluation. Goals of care should be considered when selecting a visit modality.

Parent Perceptions of Telemedicine for Acute Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infections: Sequential Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Since 2020, parents have had increasing opportunities to use telemedicine for their children, but how parents decide whether to use telemedicine for acute pediatric care relative to alternative sites of care is not clear. One of the most common reasons parents seek acute care for their children is for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs).

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine parental expectations of care via telemedicine for pediatric ARTIs, contrasting expectations of care delivered via primary care telemedicine and direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine.

METHODS

We performed a sequential mixed methods analysis to examine how parents assess telemedicine for their children's acute care. We used ARTIs as a case study for examining parent perceptions of telemedicine. First, we analyzed semistructured interviews focused on parent responses about the use of telemedicine. Each factor discussed by parents was coded to reflect whether parents indicated it incentivized or disincentivized their preferences for telemedicine versus in-person care. Results were organized by a 7-dimension framework of parental health care seeking that was generated previously, which included dimensions related to care sites (expected access, affordability, clinical quality, and site quality) and dimensions related to child or family factors (perceived illness severity, perceived child susceptibility, and parent self-efficacy). Second, we analyzed responses to a national survey, which inquired about parental expectations of primary care telemedicine, commercial DTC telemedicine, and 3 in-person sites of care (primary care, urgent care, and emergency department) across 21 factors identified through prior qualitative work. To assess whether parents had different expectations of different telemedicine models, we compared survey responses for primary care telemedicine and commercial DTC telemedicine using weighted logistic regression.

RESULTS

Interview participants (n=40) described factors affecting their perceptions of telemedicine as a care modality for pediatric ARTIs. Generally, factors aligned with access and affordability (eg, decreased wait time and lower out-of-pocket cost) were discussed as potential incentives for telemedicine use, while factors aligned with perceived illness severity, child susceptibility, and clinician quality (eg, trustworthiness) were discussed as potential disincentives for telemedicine use. In survey responses (n=1206), primary care and commercial DTC telemedicine were rated similarly on items related to expected accessibility and affordability. In contrast, on items related to expected quality of care, primary care telemedicine was viewed similarly to in-person primary care, while commercial DTC telemedicine was rated lower. For example, 69.7% (weighted; 842/1197) of respondents anticipated their children would be comfortable and cooperative with primary care telemedicine versus 49.7% (weighted; 584/1193) with commercial DTC telemedicine (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In a mixed methods analysis focused on telemedicine for ARTIs, parents expressed more concerns about telemedicine quality in commercial DTC models compared with primary care-based telemedicine. These results could help health systems better design telemedicine initiatives to support family-centered care.