Impact of Remote Medical Devices on Utilization of Medical Services in Pediatric Patients with Upper Respiratory...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Technology
• Telemedicine
• Pediatric Care

Background:

• Remote mobile examination devices represent an emerging technology in healthcare delivery.
• The integration of these devices into telemedicine platforms is a novel approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization patterns of healthcare services during remote medical device-assisted visits.
• To compare outcomes between video visits with and without remote medical devices, and traditional in-clinic visits.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 470,845 pediatric visits.
• Comparison of follow-up visits, referrals, laboratory testing, and antibiotic prescriptions.
• Inclusion of video visits with and without remote medical devices, and in-clinic visits.

Main Results:

• Video visits showed higher rates of follow-up, referrals, and lab tests compared to visits with remote medical devices.
• In-clinic visits had lower follow-up rates but higher referral rates for subspecialists and lab tests than telemedicine.
• Antibiotic prescriptions were lower in video visits compared to both remote medical device visits and in-clinic visits.

Conclusions:

• Integrating remote medical devices may reduce the need for follow-up visits, referrals, and laboratory tests compared to standard video visits.
• Telemedicine consultations, with or without devices, did not lead to an increase in antibiotic prescriptions.