Increasing Awareness of Bronchiolitis
The number of children receiving routine and emergency medical care in Utah is growing at a time when national concerns about health care are also increasing. According to a study by the Deseret News, Utah residents are satisfied with their state's health system, with an improved level of medical care and a lower number of uninsured adults than in the past. The percentage of uninsured adults has been slowly decreasing in Utah since the mid-1990s. The improvements noted by the newspaper include a marked improvement in emergency department visits for children, fewer instances of dental care in the emergency room, and a marked reduction in hospital stays for patients who are admitted to the ICU. You can learn more about these experts on this article.
One area that is seeing improvements is the specialty of pediatrics. Utah's residents are satisfied with the care provided to children in the state's intermountain healthcare facilities, according to a March Salt Lake City Times story. "I think it's a really good thing when you come to the ER and you're not making many trips into the emergency room because the doctors are so up to date on their medicine and their treatment," said one resident. Many residents worry that as traditional medicine becomes more complicated, the quality of care will become questionable, even less safe. Here is what you need to know about the pediatric care provo Utah.
According to the Salt Lake City-based Deseret News, a key question on the minds of parents and pediatricians is whether Utah's long-term reliance on automated electronic patient records, or EHRs, is keeping the healthcare system on par with what is needed elsewhere. The news report notes that state officials are examining how to make the EHR more compatible with Utah's other healthcare providers, particularly those whose patients have specialty needs. "We want to have the ability to go down the hall and see our patient right away, whether it's for a routine visit, a test, or a specialist visit," said Kaye Summers, associate director for capital projects and business development at the Utah Hospital Association. The association wants to see a data set that is "open, accurate, and accessible."
One problem doctors in rural areas face is how to get access to the diagnostic information needed to treat their patients. One solution is to use an EHR, but not everyone in a remote area is able to afford it. Other physicians taking care of children in a remote area could face a problem communicating with a computer database. The new proposed law in Colorado would make it easier for physicians taking care of children in rural areas to communicate with each other using electronic medical records. However, the bill also has stipulations that physicians must get permission from the patient before they can share the data. There is a bill in California that also would require physician authorization, but that bill has not been passed yet.
Another issue that Dr. Osguthorpe said he sees frequently in his job as a pediatrician is a lack of pediatric hospital beds. According to the Providio Times, in some areas of the state, there are not enough pediatric hospital beds. Facilities are trying to increase patient traffic by building in smaller hospitals that can be fit into a rural area. For those physicians taking care of children in smaller towns, having a pediatric bed in a nearby town helps. In a remote area where there is not a hospital or doctor to bring the child to, there could be a need for someone to drive the child somewhere else, which can be expensive.
Pediatric healthcare is something that many states are now working on. The committee was planning to have a report out within the next two weeks on the deficiencies with current ED visits and hospitalization procedures. The report is expected to recommend ways that can be done to improve healthcare for kids with chronic conditions. Utah already has a lot of the characteristics that a state with a rural landscape should have including a high level of healthcare professionals, a low rate of hospitalization, and a lower number of individuals who suffer from chronic conditions like asthma or bronchiolitis. For more details about this topic,read this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchiolitis.
