Toddler Track: Streamlining Developmental Assessments-A Retrospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Healthcare Management
• Service Delivery Models

Background:

• Specialist outpatient developmental assessment services face challenges with long wait times and lengthy assessment durations.
• Efficient service delivery is crucial for timely diagnosis and intervention in toddlers with developmental concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, implement, and evaluate the Toddler Track Model (TTM) for developmental assessment.
• To determine if TTM reduces wait times and assessment completion time.
• To assess the impact of TTM on the formulation of developmental profiles.

Main Methods:

• The Toddler Track Model (TTM) utilized a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework for service redesign.
• Children aged 18 months to 3 years 11 months were triaged into four streams with tailored pathways.
• Outcomes were measured via retrospective chart audit comparing pre- and post-TTM implementation metrics.

Main Results:

• Average time from initial clinical session to diagnostic formulation decreased from 116 to 63 days (p < 0.001).
• Service-wide wait times declined by 61.5%, with TTM contributing an estimated 68% of this reduction.
• Service capacity increased, with a substantial rise in the number of children assessed, without changes in diagnostic outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The Toddler Track Model (TTM) is an effective novel care model for toddler developmental assessments.
• TTM successfully reduced wait times and assessment duration, enhancing service capacity.
• The model maintained clinical practice standards and diagnostic outcome consistency.