Applying Telemedicine to Multidisciplinary Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Care

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Health Services Research
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Multidisciplinary care is crucial for comprehensive, whole-person care in pediatric and adolescent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• Traditionally, IBD care relied on in-person visits, posing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The pandemic necessitated rapid adoption of telemedicine to ensure continuity of care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the process of converting multidisciplinary pediatric and adolescent IBD visits to a telemedicine model.
• To highlight the use of technology, multidisciplinary teams, and quality improvement (QI) methods in this transition.
• To contextualize this experience within the existing literature on telemedicine in IBD care, particularly for pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a telemedicine model for multidisciplinary pediatric and adolescent IBD care.
• Leveraging existing technology infrastructure and multidisciplinary team collaboration.
• Application of quality improvement (QI) methodologies to optimize the telemedicine delivery model.

Main Results:

• Successful conversion of in-person multidisciplinary IBD visits to a functional telemedicine platform.
• Demonstrated feasibility of maintaining comprehensive, whole-person care through virtual means.
• Experience provides a framework for other centers adapting to telemedicine in pediatric IBD.

Conclusions:

• Telemedicine is a viable and effective modality for delivering multidisciplinary care to pediatric and adolescent IBD patients.
• The integration of technology, multidisciplinary teams, and QI is key to successful telemedicine implementation.
• This approach ensures continuity of care and supports the comprehensive needs of young IBD patients.