U.S. study shows telemedicine combined with in-school care helps children manage asthma

Researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics that preventative telemedicine could play a key role in helping school-aged children with asthma manage their condition. Children who used telemedicine and in-school care for their asthma were found to have fewer ER visits than children who used enhanced usual care. Children in the intervention group were also found to have more symptom free days per every two weeks post intervention than the children who received the standard of care treatment. Only 7% of students in the first group required an emergency room visit or hospitalization for asthma over the course of the school year, compared with 15% in the second group. The role of the school district and school nurses, in particular, were found to be critical to the success of the program.