Telehealth

Translating Reach Out and Read to Telehealth

Keeping the personal connection

Reach Out and Read is well-positioned to address the rapid increase in the use of telehealth to deliver pediatric primary care driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our response is informed by the expressed needs of our provider network and the guidance of our medical leadership.

Navigating the Now

In the first phase of our response to the pandemic, we provided resources for our families, providers, and network.

We also created a training video and a telehealth tip sheet providing guidance for pediatric primary care clinicians on:

  • How to deliver Reach Out and Read via telehealth
  • How to address stress and anxiety through shared reading
  • How to create a personal connection virtually
Telehealth Tips
stethoscope
Charting the Future

As telehealth integrates as a standard of practice, Reach Out and Read will:

  • Expand our training as part of the changing face of pediatric primary care. We will continue to support the promotion of positive language-rich parent/caregiver-child interactions through shared reading, whether well-child visits are delivered in the clinic or via telehealth.
  • Explore how to deliver books to families when visits are virtual
  • Collaborate with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a model policy for conducting well-child visits through telehealth
telehealth
Our Opportunity

The COVID-19 pandemic presents Reach Out and Read with an opportunity to convert the upheaval of the pediatric healthcare system into system change that will integrate the promotion of foundational relationships as a standard of pediatric primary care. This will result in improved cognitive and social-emotional well-being for all children, particularly those facing systemic barriers to their ability to thrive.