The Impact of Pediatric Care Variation

‍The Impact of Pediatric Care Variation

When considering the health and well-being of our children, the quality of pediatric care they receive is rightfully top of mind for most parents. Unfortunately, not all doctors are created equal and variation in pediatric care across the country means that not all children are getting the best possible treatment. Not only does this put the safety and wellbeing of our children at risk, but it also adds stress to parents and guardians of adolescents. Inefficient or low-quality care results in increased absenteeism at work for parents, more school absences for children, and unnecessary medical expenses. The discrepancies in pediatric provider quality are significant, and understanding how to find high-quality care is crucial for parents, employers, and healthcare providers alike.

Trends in Pediatric Care and Their Implications

32.6 million families (about 40% of families in the United States) have children under the age of 18. Amongst these households, two-thirds of them have both parents fully employed, which illustrates the immense need for childcare. According to a Mott Poll Report, 62% of parents with children in childcare report that their child could not attend at least once in the past year because of illness.

While it is inevitable that children will get sick, it is imperative that parents have access to the highest quality medical care, ensuring their children receive effective treatment promptly and without the burden of unnecessary tests. These types of excessive procedures not only inflate direct medical costs but also exacerbate the financial strain on families through lost wages, as parents are compelled to take paid time off to care for their children. Innovative healthcare organizations like Embold Health are equipped to mitigate these challenges, leveraging rigorous data and analytics to guide families to the most efficacious care from the outset.

The Importance of High-Quality Pediatric Care

High-quality pediatric care can prevent unnecessary medical procedures and overprescription of medications, but the quality of care varies widely, which makes it difficult to ensure children are seeing the best pediatricians. Respiratory conditions are especially prevalent, with nearly 58,000 to 80,000 children under the age of five requiring hospitalization each year. Steroids have been shown to offer minimal benefit for these conditions and pose significant risks to children's health, yet many low-performing doctors persist in overprescribing them. This not only jeopardizes the well-being of countless children but also contributes to unnecessary medical costs and strains healthcare resources. Embold Health’s data indicates that families who choose high-performing doctors are 27% less likely to have their children prescribed unnecessary steroids for common respiratory illnesses.  

Overprescribing can lead to extended and unnecessary hospital stays, unnecessary pharmaceutical costs, and longer recovery times. As a result, it’s not surprising that the per member per year (PMPY) cost for low-quality pediatricians is 66% (or $1,215) more than that for high-quality providers (illustrated below). In addition to concerns about work productivity for parents, this cost difference highlights the financial burden placed on families and the healthcare system when children are exposed to substandard care.

National and Regional Variations in Pediatric Care

Just as we see unnecessary steroid prescriptions for kids with respiratory infections, variations in pediatric care quality across the nation reveal significant differences in treatment approaches more broadly. This disparity is not limited to specific cases; children receiving care from high-quality pediatricians consistently experience substantial benefits compared to those treated by lower-quality providers as demonstrated in the chart below:

The Role of Employers in Ensuring Quality Pediatric Care

The burden of finding a solution to low-quality pediatric care should not fall entirely on working parents. It is unfair to place this responsibility on them, as they often lack access to reliable, objective information about healthcare quality. Historically, parents have had to rely on online reviews or recommendations from friends and family, which can be inadequate. Employers can play a crucial role in bridging this gap by partnering with organizations like Embold Health. Providing a comprehensive dataset and rigorous methodology to evaluate healthcare providers offers clear, actionable insights into where high-quality doctors are and how parents can benefit both medically and financially. This empowers employers to guide their employees towards making well-informed healthcare decisions for their children.

Providing access to information is just the beginning; it's also important to actively engage members with regular reminders about their benefits. Employers can enhance this effort by using interactive email campaigns, SMS messaging, and physical postcards to keep the information top-of-mind. Additionally, some employers go above and beyond by offering incentive programs that not only reward employees for choosing high-quality providers but also highlight the tools available to help them find those providers. These proactive approaches help increase utilization rates and support employees in making informed decisions about their children's care.

By playing an active role in encouraging high-quality healthcare, employers can ultimately improve their community’s healthcare ecosystem. Providing educational materials and resources on child healthcare, including preventive care guidelines, vaccination schedules, and tips for managing common childhood illnesses, will help working parents and their families. Collaborating with healthcare solutions, like Embold, to provide employees with access to advanced tools and resources will equip parents with information to eliminate the guesswork of pediatric care.

Conclusion: Take Action Today

The variation in pediatric care across the country is a critical issue that affects the well-being of our children and the productivity of parents. By understanding these variations, we make it possible to choose high-quality providers, ensuring better health outcomes and reducing unnecessary medical interventions. Embold Health empowers families to make informed healthcare decisions by providing access to top-performing doctors, thereby avoiding the pitfalls of substandard care.

Employers and healthcare providers must advocate for and implement programs that prioritize high-quality pediatric care. By doing so, we can safeguard the health of our children, support working parents, and improve the overall efficiency of our healthcare system.