Regional pediatric disaster network guides statewide telehealth initiation during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth emerged early as an important tool to provide clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but statewide implementation strategies were lacking. Needs assessment: We performed a needs assessment at 15 pediatrics clinics in Washington regarding their ability to institute telehealth. Fourteen clinics (93 percent response rate) responded; none had ability to perform telehealth visits. Clinics needed the following specific support structures: (1) an easily implementable, low-cost system, and (2) parity billing for telehealth services. Disaster effort: Two weeks after the needs assessment was performed, we facilitated direct telehealth initiation support to 45 Washington clinics and created a coalition of statewide advocacy groups. These groups advocated for (1) a statewide solution for non-network or poorly resourced providers, which was delivered by the WA Health Care Authority, and (2) parity billing, which was delivered by emergency governor action. CONCLUSION: Engagement with our regional pediatric disaster network was essential in providing guidance and expertise in this needs assessment, telehealth initiation process, and subsequent advocacy efforts. The power we have as pediatricians to coordinate with regional experts helped improve access to telehealth across Washington.

Efficacy and safety of echinacea in treating upper respiratory tract infections in children: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Echinacea is a widely used herbal remedy for treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (URIs). However, there are few data on the efficacy and safety of echinacea in treating URIs in children. OBJECTIVES: To determine if Echinacea purpurea is effective in reducing the duration and/or severity of URI symptoms in children and to assess its safety in this population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of healthy children 2 to 11 years old recruited from a regional practice-based network and an alternative medical center in 4-month periods from 2000 through 2002. INTERVENTIONS: Study patients were randomized to receive either echinacea or placebo for up to 3 URIs over a 4-month period. Study medication was begun at the onset of symptoms and continued throughout the URI, for a maximum of 10 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were duration and severity of symptoms and adverse events recorded by parents; secondary outcomes included peak severity of symptoms, number of days of peak severity, number of days of fever, and a global assessment of severity of symptoms by parents of study children. RESULTS: Data were analyzed on 707 URIs that occurred in 407 children, including 337 URIs treated with echinacea and 370 with placebo. There were 79 children who completed their study period without having a URI. The median duration of URIs was 9 days (95% confidence interval, 8-10 days); there was no difference in duration between URIs treated with echinacea or placebo (P =.89). There was also no difference in the overall estimate of severity of URI symptoms between the 2 treatment groups (median, 33 in both groups; P =.69). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups for peak severity of symptoms (P =.68), number of days of peak symptoms (1.60 in the echinacea group and 1.64 in the placebo group; P =.97), number of days of fever (0.81 in the echinacea group vs 0.64 in the placebo group; P =.09), or parental global assessment of severity of the URI (P =.67). Overall, there was no difference in the rate of adverse events reported in the 2 treatment groups; however, rash occurred during 7.1% of the URIs treated with echinacea and 2.7% of those treated with placebo (P =.008). CONCLUSIONS: Echinacea purpurea, as dosed in this study, was not effective in treating URI symptoms in patients 2 to 11 years old, and its use was associated with an increased risk of rash.