Rachael Zimlich is a freelance writer in Cleveland, Ohio. She writes regularly for Contemporary Pediatrics, Managed Healthcare Executive, and Medical Economics.
Access to comprehensive care is key to successful care of children with special needs and their families, an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report notes, and the AAP offers specific suggestions for how to accomplish this.
Access to comprehensive care is key to successful care of children with special needs and their families, an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report notes, and the AAP offers specific suggestions for how to accomplish this.
Use the Bright Futures recommendations for caring for children with special healthcare needs and their families. These recommendations include health and wellness promotion and social-emotional health assessments of the child and his/her family.
Utilize practice transformation strategies including quality improvement, pre-visit planning, psychosocial assessments, and after-visit follow-ups with patients and families.
Use team-based care and care coordinators to manage the physical and psychosocial factors faced by this population. This may require integrating or co-managing care with behavioral health specialists or other specialty care teams.
Reach out to child care and school staff to monitor progress in those environments and work together to improve performance and reduce absences.
Advocate for flexible payment design with Medicaid and other insurers to allow for appropriate care and care coordination. Clinicians also can be advocates when it comes to screening tools and interventions, as well as access to community resources.
Promote evidence-based interventions at every level of the medical home, particularly in supporting psychosocial development of the child and support for the parents or caregivers.
