An Enhanced Home-Based Telemedicine Program Using Remote Examination Devices for Children With Medical Complexity

To promote prompt effective care for medically complex children at all hours, the investigators developed an outpatient comprehensive care (CC) program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which includes 1) a clinic component with both specialist and primary care in the same clinic, 24/7 direct cell phone access to PCPs at all hours, same weekday care for acute illnesses, and a high staff-to-patient-ratio; 2) a hospital component with consultation service provided by PCPs to help optimize treatment, assure ED physicians and hospitalists are well informed, and coordinate discharge planning; and 3) a conventional telemedicine (CTM) program during regular clinic hours to respond to calls from parents seeking medical advice, to evaluate and recommend treatment for minor illnesses, to schedule a clinic visit if an in-person assessment is needed and to conduct appropriate follow-up visits.

An enhanced telemedicine program (using the HIPAA-compliant, mobile TytoCare exam kit device) will be added to CC to allow providers to remotely visualize the skin, throat, & ears, auscultate the heart & lungs, and measure illnesses during clinic hours and chronic illnesses during the detailed patient evaluation to be conducted at least every 6 months by "virtual patient rounds" in the home. These visits will involve the parent(s), the primary care physician (PCP), and if needed, any of 10 specialists, particularly pulmonology, gastroenterology, neurology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. A social worker, nutritionist, or psychologist will be involved as needed. Each PCP will perform 2-3 virtual patient rounds per week to proactively identify medical problems, suboptimal adherence to treatment, dosing errors, or other problems and intervene before CMC develop a serious illness or require avoidable clinic visits, Emergency Department visits, or hospitalizations.