Pediatric Telehealth Use Grows Despite Some Parent Reluctance

The coronavirus pandemic has helped to boost the popularity of pediatric telehealth over the past year, with parents becoming more open to the idea of having their children attend virtual care visits, according to a recent national poll. 

One in five parents responding to a national poll from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital said their child has had a virtual visit in the past year. The poll also noted that for half of the slightly more than 2,000 respondents, telehealth was the only option available to them, as the pandemic had reduced access to in-person care.

A third of parents cited safety and reducing exposure to COVID-19 as their primary reason for using virtual care, according to the poll. Another third found virtual care to be the most convenient option, as it doesn’t require traveling or leaving work. And the majority (92 percent) of parents said they were satisfied with their child’s virtual visit.

Some parents, however, weren’t fully on board with the idea of telehealth for their children. 

A quarter of parents surveyed said they were worried about technical issues. This concern was common among lower-income respondents, highlighting a consistent barrier to access among those who could most benefit from connected health. 

“Moving forward we want to make sure gaps in technology don’t exacerbate disparities in care,” Gary L. Freed, MD, MPH, a co-director of the poll and a pediatrician at the children’s hospital, said in a press release. “Providers should provide clear directions and technical support for families who use virtual visits.”

Experts say those resources often aren’t available to lower-income or rural parents, so they’re unfamiliar with the technology and hesitant to embrace it. Providers need to take that extra step to cross that digital divide and make sure everyone is comfortable with telehealth.

“Systems and policies that provide access to necessary and reliable technology will be essential to preventing inequity in availability and use of virtual care,” Freed said.

That challenge was also apparent in a recent study by the RAND Corporation that highlighted telehealth access disparities faced by lower-income individuals. While people in affluent or urban areas accessed virtual care at higher rates, those in underserved and rural areas don’t have the resources to access that care. 

In the University of Michigan poll, parents’ decisions regarding virtual care were largely dependent on their child’s health concern. According to the poll, about half of the parents (54 and 49 percent, respectively) said they would be fine with virtual care visits if their child was experiencing a minor illness or a mental health issue.

On the opposite end, only 26 and 23 percent of parents, respectively, said they would be OK with virtual care for specialist visits or check-ups, with the majority preferring in-person appointments. 

This points to the need for hybrid care in pediatric services as the nation eases away from pandemic-related limits, with providers giving their young patients and their parents the option of virtual or in-person care instead of offering just one platform. 

“We expect remote visits to continue to expand for pediatric patients long after the pandemic,” said Freed. “Parents should try virtual visits to gauge whether they feel that the provider can understand the child’s symptoms or condition, and are comfortable asking questions in the virtual format.”

According to Freed, providers need to ease reluctant parents into telehealth, first using the platform for a simple health concern that’s easily addressed online. As the parent becomes comfortable with telehealth, more virtual care services can be introduced.

Telemental health is a particularly popular - and much-needed - use case, due in large part to a surge in depression, stress, anxiety, and substance abuse during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Virginia recently launched an initiative to improve access to pediatric mental health resources. A big component of this includes telehealth, with the program providing access to online resources and education, virtual links to child psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, and virtual tools to assist families in getting the help they need.

Another recent addition to supporting pediatric mental health through telehealth was unveiled last week. The federal government is investing over $14 million in telehealth programs that integrate behavioral health services into pediatric care. This investment will give pediatric care providers access to more resources that they can use to help their patients.