The American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policy statement affirms that the medical home is the best location for nonemergency acute care but realizes that parents may take their children to other acute care services because of access, after-hours timing, or other reasons.
The AAP encourages its members to make the medical home available as “the first point of contact for acute care” by offering “enhanced access scheduling, extended hours, and telehealth incorporated inside the medical home.” Also, the AAP “supports innovation, peer-to-peer collaboration, and practice change to promote high-quality and accessible care for all children,” the policy states.
The policy, authored by Gregory P. Conners, MD, chairperson of the AAP Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, further outlines recommendations for acute care entities serving infants, children, and adolescents outside the medical home, such as maximizing continuity of care by quickly communicating information to the medical home, as well as referring the child for necessary follow-up.
Another recommendation is to have clearly defined scope-of-service limits that are transparent to families.
Other AAP entities involved in developing the policy were the Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, the Section on Telehealth Care Executive Committee, the Task Force on Pediatric Practice Change, and the Section on Emergency Medicine Executive Committee.
Read more in the journal Pediatrics (2017;139[5]:e20170629).