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PortuguêsResearch Supports the Efficacy of Telemedicine and Telehealth in Pediatric Weight Loss and Behavioral Treatment; CloudVisit Telemedicine Delivers the Necessary Long-Term Support Tools
COLD SPRING, NY–(Marketwired – Apr 3, 2014) – While the pediatric obesity epidemic is widely publicized, the issue itself is often very private. Navigating the physical and emotional needs of childhood obesity is a difficult, long-term undertaking for families. The multidisciplinary approach to pediatric weight loss involves frequent consultations with pediatricians, weight management specialists, and dieticians, a taxing regimen compounded by the challenge of at-home compliance. Recent successes in pediatric telemedicine and telehealth hold promise for easing these burdens without sacrificing treatment success.
CloudVisit Telemedicine is an easy-to-use, affordable platform for the delivery of pediatric telepsychiatry and telemedicine. The child-friendly interface facilitates scheduled video appointments between health care providers, patients, and families at home and at local facilities. Through a recent partnership with I Do App, LLC, CloudVisit will soon offer cost-effective telehealth devices such as body health analyzers, scales, and fitness trackers. With HIPAA-compliant CloudVisit, pediatric weight loss specialists have the resources to easily transition patients from in-office care to long-term weight management success.
“The benefits of at-home weight loss support are tremendous for children and adults,” said Daniel Gilbert, president and CEO of CloudVisit Telemedicine. “Continuous care is easier, completely private, and significantly more efficient for the providers and the patients. Online wellness programs can improve long-term compliance and help patients maintain weight management goals.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of childhood obesity in the last 30 years has more than doubled among children and quadrupled in adolescents. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of telemedicine and telehealth in treating childhood obesity.
Telemedicine and pediatric weight loss success
In a 2013 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) pediatric obesity pilot program, young patients visited a local clinic for telemedicine weight loss counseling. During inpatient visits, medical assistants transmitted vital statistics to a remote physician who then met with patients and families through online video consultations.
The program proved a success in both weight loss and patient satisfaction. Overall, 86 percent of the patients who were followed stabilized or decreased their body mass index (BMI) score, and some reduced their high blood pressure to normal. The majority of participating health care providers and patients — nearly 80 percent each — were satisfied with the video sessions and were interested in continuing. During the next phase, patients will join video appointments from home.
Parent satisfaction with telemedicine for childhood obesity
In a rural pediatric obesity study, all participating parents expressed interest in continuing with telemedicine weight loss consultations for their children and overall parent satisfaction was comparable to in-person appointments. Researchers are encouraged by these preliminary results and their implications for future success in pediatric obesity care for underserved rural areas.
The CloudVisit white-label telemedicine and telepsychiatry platforms are designed to give health care professionals and clinics the autonomy to build their own online programs. Custom video consultation websites and telehealth devices make it easy and cost-effective for providers to support patients with long-term, subscription-based weight loss regimens. A fully integrated pediatric weight loss program might include inpatient consultations, telemedicine appointments from home, and home health scales and other monitoring devices. Interactive, online resources such as menu planners, wellness trackers, and educational videos can be custom-tailored to help patients and parents follow weight loss and management treatment plans with ease.
