Pediatric Obesity Care via Telemedicine: Expanding the Path Forward-A Review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Review latest data regarding the intersection of pediatric obesity epidemic with telemedicine expansion to meet the need of equitable obesity care in children. RECENT FINDINGS: Prevalence of pediatric obesity in the USA continues to worsen particularly in rural, underserved areas. Although there is an increasing number of obesity medicine specialists over the last decade, availability varies by geographic location. Pre-pandemic centers were limited, rarely located in rural areas, and required in-person visits for reimbursement. Telemedicine changes, responding to pandemic needs, provided increase in telemedicine utilization and acceptance with similar or improved obesity care outcomes. Given pediatric obesity prevalence and need for chronic, effective obesity care, leveraging telemedicine to expand reach and decrease access barriers provides a critical and creative remedy. Data cites similar outcomes between telemedicine and in-person care. The time to reimagine a full spectrum of care delivery for pediatric obesity is now.

Emergency medical services data for cardiovascular disease surveillance, program planning, and evaluation in Maine.

Rapid access to medical treatment is a key determinant of outcomes for cardiovascular events. Emergency medical services (EMS) play an important role in delivering early treatment for acute cardiovascular events. Attention has increased on the potential for EMS data to contribute to our understanding of prehospital treatment. Maine recently began to explore the possible role of EMS data in cardiovascular disease surveillance and cardiovascular health program planning and evaluation. We describe the Maine EMS data system, discuss findings on ease of data use and data quality, provide a sample of findings, and share how we plan to use EMS data for program planning and evaluation of community-level interventions and to partner with EMS provider organizations to improve treatment. Our objective is to increase understanding of the promise and limitations of using EMS data for cardiovascular disease surveillance and program planning and evaluation.