The Benefits Of Using Telemedicine From AskDrMom

Preparing For A Telemedicine Visit

Now, if you do need a tele-health visit here are some key ways to prepare.

Weigh your child

Their recent weight will be helpful if any medication is needed, including over the counter meds. If your child is an infant, weigh your child and yourself together and subtract your weight.

Check their temperature

This is vital information for your pediatrician as well as good for you to know.  I’d recommend having a thermometer on hand at home, especially now. If your child is over 6 months of age, a temporal thermometer should be acurate enough.

But for younger children (especially under 2 months) and to be really accurate, you need a rectal thermometer.

Check Resting Heart And Respiratory Rate

Check you child’s resting heart rate and respiratory rate. For the heart rate, you can find their pulse either on the inside of the wrist or the side of the neck, use your index and middle finger, not your thumb.  Count for 1 minute or less and extrapolate to a number in a minute.

The respiratory rate is the number of breaths per minute,  this can be checked by counting their chest movements in and out, for younger kids, you could use their stomach.

Other Things Your Doctor Needs To Know

Your doctor will want to know if your has child been eating and drinking normally. And how often have they have used the bathroom.  If they are not well, you need to pay close attention to all three of these things.

Medical History and Medications

Make sure to let anyone new you see about any chronic medical conditions, along with hospitalizations, surgeries, and brief birth history.

Also have a list of medications your child takes either regularly or on a as needed basis, and any allergies. Even if your child wheezed once in the past, this could be pertinent information. In this case your provider will appreciate having more information rather than less!

Final Notes

There still may be some limitations to ultimately diagnosing and treating your little one on a telemedicine call. And a face to face visit may be required. But there is certainly a role for telemedicine in our modern era of technology. And certainly in the current era of Covid.

Dr Elham Raker is a Pediatrician, a Mom, with over 17 years in hospital care, urgent care, and outpatient care. You can follow her blog via instagram and via her website