Complex Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Using Teleconferencing Technology to Improve Access
To a Treatment Program
Betsy Clawson
Martha Selden
Mandy Lacks
Ann V. Deaton
Brian Hall
Robert Bach
Feeding
difficulties are one of the most commonly occurring issues in pediatric
care, affecting approximately a quarter of typically developing
children and up to 90% of children with special needs. Community health
care professionals often struggle to adequately address the complex
problems of children with more complicated feeding disorders. For the
most severely affected of these children, feeding tubes and poor growth
are ongoing challenges. To provide quality care, video teleconferencing
with specialized providers offers outstanding opportunities for
comprehensive treatment and communication to enhance long-term
outcomes. This article provides results of a teleconferencing pilot
project addressing the needs of children with complex feeding disorders
referred from locations up to 3,500 miles away. Fifteen patients
participated in the 26-month project from September 2002 to October
2004. The impact of the intervention on family satisfaction, costs to
family, provider satisfaction, and clinical outcomes is also reported.
|