Telemedicine Remains Relevant in Pediatric Care

TOPLINE The use of telemedicine for problem-based visits among children surged during the pandemic, later declining but remaining regularly used — especially for endocrine and behavioral health. METHODOLOGY Researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study to describe the use of telemedicine for more than 19 million problem-based pediatric visits at more than 1000 family medicine and other practices between 2019 and 2024. All sites had at least 100 annual visits involving children and teens younger than 18 years. TAKEAWAY Across the study period, 6% of problem-based visits were conducted using telemedicine. Telemedicine accounted for less than 1% of visits in 2019, peaked at 55% in April 2020, and declined to 6% by 2024. In 2024, telemedicine represented about one fifth of visits for endocrine health, 15% of visits for behavioral health, and 3% of visits for respiratory issues. From January 2019 to April 2023, each additional telemedicine visit was associated with no significant net change in the number of visits. But from May 2023 to December 2024, each additional telemedicine visit was associated with an increase of about two visits. IN PRACTICE The findings highlight the continued importance of telemedicine as a tool within primary care and the value of investigating the impact of its use on health outcomes, including access to care. SOURCE The study was led by Alexander G. Fiks, MD, MSCE, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia. It was published online on August 5 in Pediatrics. LIMITATIONS Diagnostic coding across sites may have influenced the results. DISCLOSURES The study received support from the National Institutes of Health, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Possibilities Project, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.