Pediatric telehealth matches in-person visits in effectiveness

Visiting the pediatrician without a fussy child can be blessing for many parents. But are remote sessions with a physician as effective as in-person visits? A recent study focused on TytoCare, a handheld mobile telehealth device, found remote visits are equivalent to in-office appointments.

Conducted by researchers at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel and New York's Sackler School of Medicine, the study compared the effectiveness of TytoCare’s platform with in-person visits. TytoCare includes exams on the ears, throat, lungs, skin and heart where physicians can conduct through a live video feed.

The study included 137 children, ages 2 to 18, looking for emergency department care. Patients were examined with conventional examination tools in a doctor’s office and again with physicians collecting exam data taken with TytoCare. Results showed that the telehealth platform achieved good to excellent reviews for all exams and remained on par for effectiveness and quality with in-person visits.

"The results are clear—examination findings achieved with TytoCare are on par with those reached by conventional examination tools," said Yehezkel Waisman, researcher on the study. "Beyond that, the quality of the readings as well as the overall user experience received positive ratings from physicians, a great testament to the solution's promise to provide accurate and confident diagnoses via telehealth technology."