Pediatric Satellite Clinic

Abstract

In this presentation I will identify some of the challenges in opening a new pediatric facility in my specific community and address the challenges identified. I will also discuss specific skills and knowledge needed to open the new pediatric facility and managing the staff.

Parents in the Florida Keys will now have Florida Keys Pediatric Associates for the healthcare of their children. Established for more than 55 years on the mainland and a long history in the South Florida community, this serves as a testament to an unwavering commitment to now extend services to provide affordable, quality and accessible healthcare to area children in the Upper Keys and provide primary pediatric care to infants, children and adolescents from newborns to age 21.

When assessing the community to open a practice in the Florida Keys there are a number of things to consider. In real estate, the 3 most important considerations when buying a house are location, location, and location! The same is true of a pediatric practice. Many of the decisions about practices and lifestyles will be determined by the preferences about where one would like to live and work. Some tips utilized on selecting the Upper Keys community in which to open a satellite office was to assess the requirements for a pediatrician and determine the employment opportunities and competition for patients, consider trends in the local obstetrician demographics, the number of children under the age of 21 that reside in the Upper Keys area and contacting the local chamber of commerce, to find out the migration trends, the opening of schools, homes, and hospitals. This is a good predictor of whether the location will be viable. It is also important to know if the community is a younger community with new families emerging or an aging retirement community and to identify where patients live (AAP, 2012).

Services that will be offered will include board-certified pediatricians on the staff and solid relationships with insurance carriers. Our mission is to deliver the best, most up to date and most comprehensive medical services to area families in the Upper Keys by providing on-site services, such as lab and X-ray, sick care 365 days a year, free support groups, chronic disease management assistance, educational and safety classes and events, and to strive to serve as a family's total resource for raising healthy and happy children.

Challenges encompass resources and provisions for the most current practice, clinical support and education will be available for every stage. Practice support include resources on coding, financing and payment, practice management, quality improvement, health information technology, and more provide support for your practice operations. Clinical support will consist of direct links to resources that child health professionals use regularly in practices to make decisions at the point of care. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) brings together a constellation of policy documents which includes policy statements, clinical reports, clinical practice guidelines, technical reports, affirmations of value, and parent pages (AAP, 2012). Research can be reviewed, which includes the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) Network, the Periodic Survey, the Graduating Resident Survey, the Richmond Center of Excellence on tobacco research and including practice-based network research. Practice-Based Research, a national primary-care research network, PROS, comprises 2,000 collaborating pediatric practitioners. A coalition of primary-care and specialist research networks share best practices under the CAPRI program, Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) and the Consortium to Advance the Pediatric Research Infrastructure (CAPRI). Pediatrician Surveys are available thru AAP which, for over 20 years, has been systematically surveying pediatricians about their practice and training experiences with a new longitudinal study launched to track young pediatricians' experiences across their career. The Periodic Survey of Fellows, Graduating Residents Survey, Pediatric Life and Career Experiences Study (PLACES), the Pediatrician Participation Survey Reports and the Tobacco Control Research which strives to improve child health by eliminating children's exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke and the Child Health Measurement Project whose goal is to enhance and advance health services research related to children and their families.

Clinical support is intended to provide direct links to resources that the child health professional uses regularly in practice to make decisions at the point of care such as Pediatric Care Online which is a quick access to multiple pediatric resources, an all in one integrated online library and tool set for current clinical information needed at the point-of-care. Patient Education Online, an extensive print on demand pediatric patient education library, including brochures vaccine information statements, injury and violence prevention, and more - in English and Spanish. Bright Futures which is a national health care promotion and disease prevention initiative that uses a developmentally based approach to address children's health care needs in the context of family and community whose purpose is to promote and improve infant, child, and adolescent health within the context of family and community. Medical Home for delivering primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective to all children and youth, including children and youth with special health care needs to assist practices in creating and implementing a family-centered medical home. Connected Kids (Violence Prevention), offering child healthcare providers a comprehensive, logical approach to integrating violence prevention efforts in practice and the community. The program takes an asset-based approach to anticipatory guidance, focusing on helping parents and families raise resilient children. Red Book Online offering recommendations for pediatric infectious disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention which includes embedded updates and a visual library and Internet Point of Care Search which is an activity that extends and collaborates with PediaLink's Learning Plan by providing online search capabilities to research clinical questions. In contrast to searching the Internet for general information, the concept of an Internet Point of Care Search activity describes structured, self-directed, online learning by physicians related to topics relevant to their clinical practice )AAP, 2012).

Profitability for the new practice