At Boston Children’s Hospital, we believe that patients and their families deserve the best care, individualized to their needs, and delivered to locations in ways that are most efficient, successful, secure and convenient for them. We support a variety of patient programs focused on the delivery of health care via telemedicine, using technologies that allow the health care provider and the patient to feel as if they were present in the same location.
Online Second Opinion Program
When faced with complex medical questions or concerns, decisions regarding a new diagnosis or treatment plan for your child, having an expert opinion from Boston Children’s Hospital can provide peace of mind that you have consulted with the world’s leading pediatric specialists.
With the online second opinion program, pediatric patients and their families have access without leaving home. Everything is done remotely using your current medical records, so you save the disruption of taking time off work, taking your child out of school, as well as the expense of traveling to Boston. Typically second opinions are turned around in 7-10 business days.
A second opinion from a Boston Children’s specialist will include a review of patient records and key questions which may result in:
- New or confirmed diagnosis
- Alternate therapies and treatment options
- Medication management recommendations
- Surgical and non-surgical options
- Pain management options
All pediatric subspecialties are available to provide an online second opinion.
Click here to learn more about the Online Second Opinion Program or to request a second opinion.
Read more from real patients’ experiences about the life-changing impact of a Boston Children’s Online Second Opinion here.
Virtual Visits
Boston Children’s Hospital virtual visit service connects a patient directly to their clinician through a secure, live-interactive video system. This service allows the patient to receive the specialized care he or she needs right from home — or another convenient location, using a mobile device or computer. Virtual visits provide an alternative option of receiving the same high quality care normally received in a face-to-face visit but at a lower cost to the patients, payers and providers.
Hospital to Hospital Programs
Boston Children’s collaborates with a number of other hospitals in New England and New York where we currently provide pediatric subspecialty staff or clinics to supplement other clinicians. As part of this extension of care, we offer telemedicine support to provide regional health care providers with access to sub-specialty pediatric expertise when needed.
Satellite locations, affiliated hospitals, pediatricians and subspecialists across the northeast and in our Community of Care, bring Boston Children’s pediatric expertise to settings that are convenient for patients and families—and their primary care providers.
For example, the TeleConnect Program uses real-time interactive video to support on-demand clinical collaboration between remote Boston Children’s intensivists and community ED physicians in the evaluation and stabilization of acute patients. TeleConnect works with several community hospitals such as South Shore Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Beverly Hospital, to address the critical need for timely access to pediatric intensive care services.