For city kids with asthma, telemedicine and in-school care cut ER visits in half

Children with asthma in the Rochester City School District who received a combination of telemedicine support and school-based medication therapy were almost half as likely to need an emergency room or hospital visit for their asthma.

The findings

A new study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, expands on previous research from the University of Rochester Medical Center which showed that children with asthma who took their preventive medication at school under the supervision of their school nurse were less likely to have asthma issues. The addition of the telemedicine component—which allows for the child’s primary care provider to stay readily involved in the child’s care—makes the program more sustainable and scalable, potentially allowing it to be used as a model for urban-based asthma care nationally.

One in 10 children in the United States has asthma, making it the country’s most common chronic childhood disease. Though symptoms can be effectively managed through regular use of preventive medicine, children must first be diagnosed, and then must regularly take their medication—minority children living in poverty, in particular, do not always receive these interventions. As a result, these children suffer many preventable and potentially dangerous asthma flare-ups, which can lead to expensive emergency room visits.