Although only 15 percent of parents have used telemedicine treatment for their children, interest in virtual services is increasing, according to a survey conducted by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Nemours Children's Health System.
The survey, titled Telemedicine in America 2017: Parents Use of Virtual Visits, includes feedback from 500 parental guardians in the United States.
Here are five findings.
1. Sixty-four percent of parents plan to use telemedicine within the next year for their child.
2. Among those who already used pediatric telemedicine services, the top reasons for doing so included convenience (80.7 percent), immediacy (53.4 percent) and after-hours accessibility (52.3 percent).
3. Parents are most willing to use telemedicine services for cold and flu (58 percent), pink eye (51 percent) and rashes (48 percent).
4. Although chronic condition treatment via telemedicine is gaining traction among adults, parents said they were reluctant to use this service for their children. They were least likely to use telemedicine for diabetes (53 percent), asthma (43 percent) and ADHD (36 percent).
5. Fathers (33.9 percent) were more likely to have used telemedicine services for themselves or their children than mothers were (21.7 percent).