Collaboration between school-based telehealth officials and students’ primary care physicians is making a difference for children who experience an asthma exacerbation at school.
According to the results of a quality improvement project presented at the 2024 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) National Conference on Pediatric Health Care in March, school-based telehealth professionals successfully flagged cases of asthma exacerbation requiring extra support and connected those students to their primary care physicians for follow-up. Study author Amanda Vickers, RN, MS, CPNP-PC, PMHS, an advanced practice division lead for Hazel Health in San Francisco, and a DNP student, said that bridging the gap benefits a student’s wellbeing and reduces trips to the emergency department (ED).
The study asked clinicians who were already practicing school-based telehealth to respond to three questions and indicate whether a follow up with a primary care physician was needed when treating a student for asthma exacerbation at school. Throughout the three-month study, clinicians reported 20,000 school-based telehealth visits. Of that, 2% were related to an asthma exacerbation. When compared to a 21% baseline, the study reported that 71% of children who experienced an asthma exacerbation at school were connected to their primary care physician after implementing the new process. Vickers said that connection is defined as either completion of a case management task or the child’s doctor receiving a faxed summary report of the telehealth visit.
According to Vickers, 86% of study participants already had access to rescue medication at school, but one in three required support from school-based telehealth services to either refill medication or navigate school medication forms.
Vickers said that although the process is designed to efficiently respond to cases of school-day asthma exacerbation, it’s not without its challenges, including periods of high demand for school-based telehealth providers. Vickers said a move toward automation in electronic health records would more efficiently document student-physician connections.
