Telemedicine and adherence monitoring in children with asthma

Telemedicine, defined as synchronous video visits between a provider and a child with asthma, often takes place in the school setting. This review examines the new electronic sensors for adherence monitoring and studies that used telemedicine in the school setting to improve asthma outcomes.

School-based telemedicine provides an important service to families of school-aged children who have difficulty due to time and distance in planning and keeping in-person appointments with primary or specialty providers. Significant improvements in objective measures of asthma control are inconsistently observed although caregiver and parent quality of life and child self-management behaviors are improved and satisfaction is high. Assessment and outcomes related to adherence are mentioned in studies but results are not often reported. However, it appears that adherence interventions are beneficial while maintained but the effects are not sustained upon intervention discontinuation.

The school setting provides a convenient and suitable environment to conduct telemedicine visits between school-aged children and their primary care or specialty provider. Electronic adherence sensors allow review of controller and rescue medication use through a cloud-based dashboard and provides an opportunity for real-time assessment and intervention by providers to improve asthma outcomes.