Developing a telehealth strategy for infants and toddlers
Before launching a telehealth service, a thoughtful approach to each step, from implementation to measuring progress, will increase the program's success.
On this page:
- Determining if telehealth is right for your practice
- Creating a plan for offering telehealth services for infants and toddlers
- Billing for telehealth services for infants and toddlers
- Marketing telehealth services for infants and toddlers
- Evaluating your infants and toddlers telehealth program
- Growing your telehealth program for infants and toddlers
Determining if telehealth is right for your practice
As a first step, it is important to review what telehealth services you will offer and what you would like to offer in the future.
There are several telehealth services that are suitable for infants and toddlers:
- Synchronous communication allows for real-time interactions between the pediatrician, the child, and their caregiver, making it suitable for consultations, check-ups, and follow-up visits.
- Asynchronous communication allows you or the caregiver to record and share medical information like digital images, videos, or patient data. This is particularly useful for conditions that do not require immediate feedback, such as reviewing a skin rash or lab results. This can include secure messaging through a patient portal.
- Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) can be used to monitor vital signs, oxygen levels, or other health metrics. This may be helpful for select infants with respiratory infections, infectious illnesses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or those needing close monitoring.
- Caregiver education and digital health tools. Smartphones or tablets may help families track milestones, record concerns, and prepare for visits.
- eConsults enable health care professionals to consult with peers. This can support a primary care provider connecting with a pediatric subspecialist or another health professional who is involved in the child’s care.
Creating a plan for offering telehealth services for infants and toddlers
Developing a strategy requires making practical business decisions and thinking ahead to ensure long-term stability and success. You will need to:
- Create a roadmap for when and how you will roll out new services. Make sure you prioritize the most critical services to meet your patient's needs.
- Communicate clearly to ensure that your patients, staff, and the broader community understand what your telehealth program offers and how they can best utilize your services to meet their health care needs.
- Find funding to cover both short- and long-term costs and to account for insurance reimbursement delays. View funding opportunities for telehealth-related programs.
- Raise awareness by updating your website, online and print advertising, email communications, and more. Communicate the advantages you offer such as extended hours and timely access to specialists.
- Design your approach to hiring, staff training, workflow, infrastructure, and information technology (IT) needs, and patient communication.
- Develop clear guidelines for scheduling virtual visits, obtaining informed consent, documenting consultations, and handling technical issues.
Billing for telehealth services for infants and toddlers
It is important to understand policies and reimbursement for telehealth services:
- Medicaid. Each state has its own billing and reimbursement policies. For an overview of Medicaid policies, visit Medicaid and Medicare overview.
- Private insurance. Check with the patient's insurance company for information on their billing and reimbursement policies. For information on private insurance policies by state, visit the telehealth policy by jurisdiction.
Marketing telehealth services for infants and toddlers
When you launch your program, you will want to establish an outreach plan to increase awareness.
- Leaflets. Create informative materials highlighting the benefits of telehealth, such as convenience, more timely access to care, and reduced exposure to infectious illnesses.
- Stories. Share stories or testimonials from caregivers who have had positive telehealth experiences.
- Online. Promote the telehealth program through your practice’s website, social media channels, and email newsletters.
- Communication. Introduce the program to caregivers during in-person visits.
Evaluating your infants and toddlers telehealth program
It is important to regularly evaluate your telehealth program to review successes, identify gaps, and address unresolved challenges.
Start by identifying your program goals. Goals can be as simple as increasing access to care for infants and toddlers by encouraging more parents and caregivers to use telehealth.
Once your program is operational, consider how it is impacting your patients and the community. Some key questions include:
- Is telehealth increasing access to care for infants and toddlers?
- Has the use of telehealth allowed my practice to provide more appropriate, specialized care for our youngest patients?
- Are parents and caregivers satisfied with using telehealth?
- What challenges are you encountering and what can be done to address them?
- Do staff feel comfortable using telehealth? What changes would make it easier for them to provide care using telehealth?
- How is telehealth affecting my patients' outcomes?
It is important to define your measures. Key performance indicators are measures of the effectiveness of your telehealth program. Some measures to consider include:
- Volume. Track the number of telehealth visits and frequency of specific services.
- Access. How many infants and toddlers are receiving care that would not have received it without telehealth?
- Utilization. What percentage of caregivers have sought telehealth care for their infants and toddlers since your telehealth program launched?
- Follow-up visits. Assess which visits required an in-person follow-up visit and which issues were resolved through the telehealth visit.
- Outcomes. Measure whether telehealth visits produce the clinical and developmental results you intend. Consider tracking well-child visit completion, weight and growth trajectories, and emergency department visits that telehealth appointments may have prevented.
- Value. Assess the benefit your telehealth program delivers relative to what it costs to provide. Consider no-show and cancellation rates, cost per visit, and reimbursement compared with in-person care, along with caregiver-reported measures such as reduced travel time and increased confidence in caring for their child.
Once you determine your key performance indicators, you can use them to track the success of your program.
Growing your telehealth program for infants and toddlers
After launching your program and completing an initial evaluation of your program, you can share your successes. This is a great opportunity to talk to potential stakeholders including community-based organizations that work with young families. You can also reach more caregivers who could benefit from telehealth services for infants and toddlers.
Throughout the process, gathering feedback from caregivers is essential. Ask your caregivers questions such as:
- What do you like about using telehealth for your infant or toddler?
- What do you dislike about using telehealth for your young children?
- What would you change?
- What would make telehealth easier or more comfortable for you and your child?
- What other services would you like to see offered via telehealth?
- Do you feel like your concerns were heard and addressed in your telehealth appointment?
- Would you schedule another telehealth appointment for your child?
More information:
Plan your telehealth workflow (PDF) — Health Resources and Services Administration
Planning your telehealth workflow — Health Resources and Services Administration
Evaluation considerations for telehealth programs — Rural Health Information Hub
Implementation considerations for telehealth programs serving children — Rural Health Information Hub