A Pediatric Telemedicine Response to a Natural Disaster

Hurricane Irma, a catastrophic Category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida on September 10, 2017. Nemours CareConnect (NCC) offered direct-to-consumer (DTC) pediatric telemedicine during Hurricane Irma. Although other programs have examined disaster response and postdisaster recovery by using telemedicine, no studies report use of a pediatric-specific, DTC platform during all three phases of disaster management. This IRB-approved study is a retrospective analysis of NCC's audio-visual telemedicine encounters performed on September 8-16, 2017. From September 8 to 16, 2017, NCC recorded 262 completed telemedicine visits. The mean wait time was 12.23 ± 14.4 min. The mean length of the telemedicine encounter was 10.12 ± 4.42 min. Most telemedicine visits occurred on the day before the storm (27.9%), followed by the day after the storm (19.5%). Most common chief complaints were upper respiratory symptoms (33.6%), skin-related concerns (19.1%), fever (16.8%), and gastrointestinal concerns (6.5%). Patient satisfaction remained high during the storm, for the provider as well as the platform. During Hurricane Irma, NCC offered accessible and efficient care to families who were impacted by the storm throughout Florida. Results suggest a differential pattern of use before the storm's arrival, during, and immediately after the storm, which may be informative to other telemedicine providers. Further research is needed on the integration of telemedicine into the disaster preparedness plans at a local, state, and national level to ensure maximum support for those families in need.