Since the majority of U.S. children are in childcare or school, plus the fact that common illness rates increase for persons with developmental disabilities, parents today are forced to take more time off from work to deal with their children’s health problems. Today, children’s illnesses in schools account for 40% of work absences. To help alleviate the problem, Tel-e-Atrics initiated a telemedicine network in Akron Ohio to care for children with medical issues by having Children’s Hospital in Akron which is the largest pediatric care provider in Northeast Ohio, connect remotely to the school.
The program works when a child expresses a health concern, the child is seen remotely and then treatment is initiated. The benefit is that with early diagnosis, parents don’t hide health problems, and telemedicine can provide for better health management with fewer problems for the school, the physician, and the parents. There are plans to expand the service to three day programs for children with special needs.
The Tel-e-Atrics telemedicine network currently has 41 sites in operation on a daily basis, with over 4000 patient users and 50 healthcare providers interconnecting schools, childcare centers, camps, group homes, pediatric and family medical practices, and several hospitals. As of September 2006, Tel-e-Altrics has done 4,300 telehealth visits where 90% of the children at the sites visited were covered by Medicaid Managed Care or private insurance.
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