While you may be wondering whether telemedicine is suitable for your children, we answer – yes, it’s a practical and safe solution for both adults and kids. When then should you take it into your consideration?


It is commonly known that small children catch a cold or minor diseases much more often than adults. For many parents and caregivers it means missing work and lining up in a queue to get their child’s diagnosis and prescription. What if there was a simpler option, moreover, not only in case of common illnesses, but also with more complex conditions?

Telemedicine is a game changer. Let’s see which children and in what way can benefit from it. 

Which small patients can benefit from telemedicine?

Children with chronic conditions 

Have you ever imagined video games as a treatment? It has just become an option for children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring ADHD. 

Digital health platforms using video games technology and educational activities are to improve children’s ability to pay attention, plan, and complete tasks. But that’s not all — the spectrum of its benefits goes from developing working memory to enhancing care management.

Therapeutic effects of the treatment were researched via Project: EVO, a platform that provides sensory stimuli through an action video game experience. It is designed by a digital medicine company known as Akili Interactive for now was used only for the purpose of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s research. Nevertheless, parents of those children who participated in the case study found it to have a beneficial approach for general treatment that can be done from home and has notable effects. 

It is to be launched as a regular treatment option for small patients with ASD and ADHD. 

Children with common illnesses

A great majority of everyday complaints and minor diseases of your children can be treated via telemedicine helping you to save time and fuss about the physical visit. Whether it’s only a seasonal cold, allergy, rash or behavior issue, you can get a virtual appointment with your corresponding pediatrician to get the diagnosis and treatment without having to attend the medical centre.

Even though you will only need a smartphone and a secure Internet connection to virtually meet with the pediatrician, to make the consultation thorough and the diagnosis fully correct, you may need some devices that would complete the medical examination. HIGO is one of them. With its nine exchangeable modules it can serve for: 

  • throat and ear canal and tympanic membrane exam
  • cough and breath registration
  • skin exam
  • heart auscultation and heart rate calculation
  • auscultation of lungs and abdomen
  • temperature measurement

Sending the examination results immediately and directly to your child’s pediatrician, the device assures a trustworthy diagnosis. When else can you use HIGO? Check its use cases for individual clients.

Newborns and toddlers

It’s nothing new to say newborns, toddlers, and small children are rather scared of doctors than fond of the medical appointments. 

The first months of a child’s life may be especially difficult and stressful for both parents and children as they are filled with regular medical checkups. Those are mostly to check whether the child develops properly and whether it reaches important milestones for its age. 

Those appointments, however, in their vast majority, can be replaced with teleconsultations as they mostly consist of a short interview that provides the pediatrician with the information about the child’s development. Some minor examinations can be done at home, too, getting us equally thorough results and diagnoses as those done in medical centres, but with less stress.

Parents’ and caregivers’ benefits from using telemedicine

Knowing already when telemedicine can be applied in case of your children, it’s time to mention the benefits it has – both for parents and kids themselves, too. 

Time-saving

No wonder telemedicine became popular among busy parents and caregivers as a time-saving solution. Easily provided at night and on weekends, with no long wait times, no commute, and way less missed time at work, telemedicine is a convenient option for both parents and their children, who are attended faster and with less stress.

Promptness and accuracy

No lines and no gems your child is exposed to in traditional medical centres. No tantrums and no stress and the same quality of medical examination, diagnosis, and treatment prescription. Telehealth offers you serenity and reduces stress, especially when you’re a new parent and every irregularity of your child worries you. Now no matter what, at any time you can contact your pediatrician and get a prompt and accurate diagnosis. 

Improving medical services’ availability

Living in rural areas makes it difficult to access healthcare, especially for those with children as it’s the little ones who usually get common illnesses more often than adults. 

Telemedicine is a solution widening the reach of healthcare and enabling children to attend a teleconsultation not only within general medicine, but also within chronic speciality care or in case of rare conditions. Those children who couldn’t receive specialistic treatment before, now have an opportunity to improve their health without leaving their home. 

Comfort

Saving your child’s medical data in a mobile application may be extremely useful and handy, especially when it comes to telemedicine. One of the most common applications enabling you to introduce your relatives’ data is MyChart, where you can, among other features, save a list of medications or find the best specialists based on your or your child’s symptoms. To check other recommended telehealth applications see 5 most popular free medical apps in the US.

However, saving time, promptness, better availability, and comfort aren’t the only advantages of telemedicine. There are numerous other benefits and uses of this particular medicine practice, both for adults and children. To see all of them, read about 13 use cases of telemedicine

Children