Implementing school based telehealth for children with medical complexity.
This quality improvement project aimed to improve parental experiences with healthcare delivery and collaborative health care offered at a school serving children with medical complexity (CMC) by implementing telehealth services.



Parents of students at an urban public charter school for CMC were surveyed before and after telehealth was implemented at the school for two months, and again one year later, using the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC-20).



Parental scores on the MPOC-20 were generally high both before and after the implementation of telehealth. There were no significant differences in the scores. Anecdotally, parent satisfaction with telehealth services was high. A review of the utilization of school-based telehealth during the 2015-2016 school year among 13 schools, including this unique school for CMC, revealed that the odds of having a telehealth visit at the school for CMC vs the other 12 schools was 23.8 (p value < 0.001; CL:11.2 to 50.6).



Parental experiences with healthcare delivery were high both before and after the implementation of telehealth at an urban public charter school for CMC. Utilization of telehealth at the school for CMC was significantly higher than that of children enrolled in the program at 12 other schools. Further research is needed to evaluate parental experiences with school-based telehealth services.
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, USA.
Carrie L
CL
Cormack
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, USA.
Kelli
K
Garber
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, USA.
Kathryn
K
Cristaldi
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, USA.
Barbara
B
Edlund
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC, USA.
Cindy
C
Dodds
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont, Dublin, Ireland.
Liah
L
McElligott
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000071069:Multiple Chronic Conditions / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010290:Parents; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012572:School Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Telehealth; disabled children; school health services