There are many technologies and resources available to support children’s hospitals and pediatric providers today – and well into the post-pandemic future. In the quest to help improve children’s health, we continuously think about how technology solutions can help to improve pediatric patient outcomes. And, with video conferencing capabilities now at the fingertips of both parents and children for remote learning, the use of telehealth for pediatric visits will continue to climb. Shannon Martin

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This summer, U.S. News published its 14th annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, and Nuance is proud and honored to partner with 9 of the top 10 organizations on this list.

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Our experience working with children’s hospitals of all sizes allows us to reflect on how children’s health and healthcare providers are affected by these unusual times, and how they can be supported by technologies in ways that improve patient outcomes.

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Although the case burden of COVID-19 does not lie among the pediatric population, children’s health and healthcare providers have been affected by the pandemic in many, perhaps unexpected ways. We know, for example, that fewer immunizations have been administered. Many well visits, routine care, and elective procedures have been deferred or halted as anxious parents were reluctant to seek pediatric care out of fears of contracting the virus. Beyond missing immunizations, there’s another real concern – the potential adverse effects of delayed diagnosis and treatment on pediatric patients’ long-term outcomes.

Patient safety and well-being are, of course, our priority. But the impacts of reduced volumes and revenue on children’s hospitals and healthcare providers also makes financial recovery a top concern for many healthcare organizations. Children’s hospitals received less than 1% of the funding allocated for healthcare providers in the CARES Act. Many were already working to overcome a financial gap between Medicaid reimbursements for a large proportion of their patients and higher private insurance payments.

Getting patients in the doors is paramount. But it must be safe and appropriate to do so. As patients across the U.S. adapt their routines to during the pandemic, they’re continuing to take advantage of telehealth visits. We see evidence of this in the increased number of virtual visits and in declining hospital volumes—a fact that’s sure to have a significant and long-term impact on healthcare organizations’ financials.

Telehealth can be one answer for pediatric healthcare – it also can simultaneously support patient care, safety, and revenue recovery. That is why we’re providing comprehensive conversational AI documentation solutions optimized for telehealth as well as exam room visits. Our intelligent, automated solutions reduce administrative burdens while creating high-quality clinical notes that capture the complete patient story for accurate and appropriate reimbursement. For example, ambient clinical intelligence solutions work in tandem with the EHR and telehealth platforms, securely capturing and contextualizing physician-patient conversations while the documentation writes itself for physician review. Likewise, AI-powered solutions, such as Dragon Medical Advisor with Pediatric Guidance can help enhance clinical documentation quality and specificity and boost physician efficiency from directly within the clinical workflow.

To learn more, join this upcoming event, Future-proofing children’s hospitals and pediatric providers, on September 22, or watch it on-demand afterward. We’ll show how to ensure that documentation matches the level of care provided and can significantly aid in financial recovery.

Shannon Martin is a Senior Principal Product Consultant at Nuance. Shannon has extensive experience as a registered nurse and clinical documentation specialist. She has worked in a variety of settings including pediatric bone marrow transplant, pediatric med/surg, pediatric emergency room, and pediatric nephrology. As a clinical documentation specialist, she was the Team Lead of 24 nurses and completed chart audits for query compliance, monitored staff productivity, and mentored and oriented new staff in clinical documentation. Shannon is currently a member of the Clinical Content team and is lead developer of our Pediatric clinical content.

Posted on behalf of NZHIT Member Nuance