Imagine Pediatrics, P.C. reposted this
“Traditionally, all children, regardless of age or diagnostic complexity, have been diagnosed in specialized clinics with trained clinicians such as developmental-behavioral pediatricians and clinical psychologists. This strategy was effective when autism diagnoses were rare but increasing autism awareness and referral prevalence have created a diagnostic bottleneck.” Read the full AAP News article on addressing barriers to pediatricians’ capacity to diagnose autism during #AustismAcceptanceMonth https://lnkd.in/dGEFe3DZ
Agree that primary care pediatrics is in a unique position to help diagnose, autism, and the children they have seen since birth. As noted in the publication, challenges lie in diagnostic tools and targeted education for diagnoses, but most importantly, time and support. As clearly mentioned, time in what is normally alotted for an office visit is a barrier to the type of thorough evaluation a child deserves for an accurate diagnosis. Much of it may be done by a care provider that is not necessarily a physician or APP. Investing in support, such as case managers, care coordinators, psychologists, RNs, and LCSWs, are necessary to offset the time the pediatrician would have needed to take in these visits, and to help these children get timely evaluations. We need to advocate for this level of support on multiple levels.
Physician
5moAs a PCP I often know a child has ASD for months or even years before they get an official dx. Sadly, insurance companies don't trust or respect us, so we await "official diagnosis" from someone sanctioned by insurance, regardless of the lack of child psych in our catchment areas, and the family's ability to get seen by those specialists. The one who suffers is always the kid (losing time when they could be getting early interventions).