Boston Children's Hospital Expands Telehealth Specialist Network to Rural New England

Boston Children's Hospital is expanding its pediatric telehealth specialist network to eight additional rural hospitals across northern New England, giving smaller community hospitals remote access to pediatric specialists in cardiology, neurology, and infectious disease that they cannot staff on-site.

The expansion builds on a smaller pilot program launched several years ago at a handful of rural facilities, which hospital officials said reduced unnecessary patient transfers to Boston by allowing local physicians to consult with pediatric specialists in real time during emergency cases.

"A lot of rural hospitals simply can't justify hiring a full-time pediatric neurologist for the patient volume they see, but that doesn't mean their youngest patients should get worse care because of geography," said a Boston Children's vice president overseeing the telehealth program. "This lets a small hospital in a rural county have the same pediatric consult available as one of our Boston facilities."

The expanded network will connect rural emergency departments to Boston Children's specialists via secure video consultation around the clock, with a particular focus on pediatric neurological emergencies, where rapid specialist input can significantly affect treatment decisions. The hospital said participating facilities will also gain access to remote pediatric intensive care monitoring support for critically ill children awaiting transfer.

Rural hospital administrators have welcomed the expansion, noting that staffing pediatric specialists in low-population areas has become increasingly difficult as physician shortages worsen nationally. Boston Children's said it plans to add several more rural hospital partners to the network over the next two years if the current expansion performs as expected.