Report calls for action to improve access to pediatric subspecialty care

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends actions to improve access to pediatric subspecialty care. The report calls for professional societies to develop testing, management and referral guidelines for health conditions commonly managed by pediatric subspecialists; Congress to increase Medicaid payment rates for pediatric services, funding for the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program and ensure sufficient support for pediatric graduate medical education programs; pediatric boards and accreditors to develop flexible training pathways; and health insurers to adequately reimburse for telehealth and other evidence-based models to enhance access to pediatric subspecialty care, among other recommendations.