Children's Health System of Texas is rolling out a telemedicine system in 57 schools after piloting in 27 schools last year, reports the Dallas Business Journal.
The program allows school nurses to connect with physicians from Children's Health Pediatric Group clinics for a video consultation.
With the nurses using tools with video and photo capabilities, physicians can diagnose common illnesses and send prescriptions to the child's preferred pharmacy. In addition, all communication between the school and clinics are encrypted. Last year the program was funded through a Medicaid waiver for experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that promote Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
In the past, school nurses have been limited in what they've been allowed to treat, Julie Hall-Barrow, Children's Health senior director of health care innovation and telemedicine, tells DBJ.
Initiatives also are under way to better integrate school nurses with the wider healthcare system; currently they don't always have up-to-date information about their young patients, and must obtain parental permission to contact a student's doctor, according to the article.
Nemours Children's Health System in Delaware is tackling that issue with a program that gives school nurses access read-only to records for more than 1,500 students with complex conditions and special needs.
Another project--in the Southeast Minnesota Beacon Community--brought together parents, physicians and schools to better manage children's asthma. With a secure, locally hosted portal, parental permissions were stored and enabled messaging between the parties, FierceHealthIT previously reported.
In addition, telehealth can be an ideal option for bringing services to children with special healthcare needs, according to a recent report from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, though it said families and providers in California are not using telehealth to its full potential
To learn more:
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