Are Online Pediatrician Consultations Reliable?
For individuals who have just become parents, one of the most critical people to have in their lives is their child’s pediatrician. With a million questions flying around at the speed of light, finding someone helpful, reliable, and knowledgeable can go a long way in settling the jitters of newly found parenthood.
As doctors ourselves, we cannot overstate the importance of working with a pediatrician to understand your child’s growth markers. However, in the shadow of a pandemic that hasn’t quite become endemic, new parents are faced with a question that others have not had to answer before – is it safe enough for us to go see a pediatrician? While a decisive jury is still out on that answer, what we can all take heart in is the fact that a solution presented itself on the heels of that quandary. Which is really just a fancier way of saying, thank goodness for online pediatrician consultations.
Why Bother with an Online Pediatrician Consultation?
Now before you go rolling your eyes at just the thought of an online consultation, we’d like to remind you of a minor little detail. Okay, make that two minor little details.
Detail 1 is commuting to and from the pediatrician’s clinic with a potentially unwell baby who might be restless, crying, hungry, cranky, or tired. This may or may not involve taking time off from work, finding someone to come along with you, arranging for transportation, having enough food/diapers for the baby/child on hand, and any other obstacles that prevent this from becoming a smooth ride. If you’re a single parent, then the hassles are easily magnified.
Detail 2 is waiting for long minutes or hours with said baby in the said pediatrician’s clinic.
When compared to these two significant details, making an online pediatrician appointment seems like a much nicer and much more convenient option. And if your child doesn’t need critical care at the time of the consultation, then the online option really could be the golden ticket new parents have needed for many years.
How does an Online Pediatrician Consultation Help Parents?
- Skip Clinic Waiting Times
This one benefit is valuable enough to be mentioned multiple times in the space of a single blog post. While at one point, none of us could have trusted in the power and potency of an online pediatrician consultation, the pandemic turned many of us into believers.
The unexpected (and pleasant) side effect turned out to be that we could meet our doctors from the convenience of our homes, without spending time and money on transportation costs.
Additionally, waiting times have disappeared. A telemedicine appointment scheduled for 10:30 a.m. begins exactly then, and not 45-90 minutes later. So, we highly recommend taking note of nearly zero waiting times when it comes to meeting your child’s doctor.
If you’re like most new parents, you’ll be juggling parenthood along with a host of other responsibilities and obstacles. Skipping the waiting times will feel like a blessing in disguise. - Vaccination Information and Guidelines
Sometimes, an actual trip all the way to the doctor’s clinic is not warranted, especially when all you’re looking for is reliable information.
New parents tend to have a lot of questions about their child’s development and growth markers, and meeting the doctor in person is not always required for these to be answered.
An online consultation with your pediatrician is a great way for you to gain a strong understanding of the vaccinations and general health guidelines for your child and keep a check on their overall development. - Seasonal Health Issues
There’s nothing quite like a persistent and annoying allergy season to bring out the sniffles, watery eyes, and a dripping nose in a child. There’s especially nothing like an allergy season to bring out the crankiness in a child either. Which then turns into a domino-effect of a family-wide crankiness session, with parents, children, and everyone else in the ecosystem feeling equally frustrated and exhausted.
Believe us, you don’t want to add on the hassle of travelling to the doctor’s clinic if your child is struggling with allergies, the cold, or the flu. Please stay home, keep them safe, and consult with your pediatrician online. - Centralised & Safe Record Keeping
Imagine never having to worry about where you’ve kept that one obscure report from a few visits ago. Or never having to worry about digging up an old, pesky prescription because you just can’t remember the name of that medicine that helped your child sleep better through their fever the last time.
Among its many other benefits, an online platform helps patients and doctors tremendously because all of the medical records can begin to live in one place with ready accessibility. We can’t overstate the joy of this convenience.
If you’re looking for a pediatrician who can help you and your child feel safe and comforted, with the right guidance at the right time, we recommend scheduling a consultation with Dr. Mona Kulpati.
Having worked at the Department of Pediatrics at AIIMS and Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Mona Kulpati has garnered well over 15 years of experience as a pediatrician, and is able to efficiently manage a wide range of common problems over a teleconsultation.