Screening Infants Through Adolescents for Social/Emotional/Behavioral Problems in a Pediatric Network

Area of Science:

• Pediatric healthcare
• Behavioral health screening
• Health informatics

Background:

• Routine screening for social/emotional/behavioral (SEB) problems is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
• Integrating screening into standard care requires effective systems for diverse patient populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of establishing annual SEB screening as standard care.
• To assess the effectiveness of a fully automated screening system integrated with electronic medical records and patient portals.

Main Methods:

• A 7-clinic network implemented annual SEB screening for patients aged 2.0 months to 17.9 years in 2017.
• Billing records and electronic data were analyzed for screening completion between 2016 and 2019.
• Chi-square analyses and generalized estimating equations were used to assess changes over time and across demographics.

Main Results:

• Screening completion increased significantly from 37.2% in 2016 to 70.9% in 2019.
• Most clinics exceeded 90% screening levels by the end of 2019.
• Demographic differences in screening completion were minimal.

Conclusions:

• Adopting a best-practice policy and an electronic system successfully increased SEB screening across all age groups and clinics.
• Routine psychosocial assessment, as recommended by the AAP, is achievable and sustainable in pediatric settings.