Information for Providers/Clinics

Using a validated developmental screening tool has been shown to increase the percentage of children screened during routine well child visits. The 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health indicates that the percent of children screened in Delaware was 10.9 percent compared to the national average of 19.5 percent. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Division of Public Health would like to change this trend. For this reason, the bureau calls on Delaware’s primary care and medical care practitioners to join in the effort to increase the number of children screened in Delaware by registering for the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) online assessment and committing to its use during well child visits.

PEDS Online provides test results, billing and diagnosis codes, summary reports for parents and, when needed, referral letters. All information is returned in real-time, immediately upon completion of the screens.

PEDS Online therefore helps providers save time, receive appropriate reimbursement, and provide accurate measurement. Hosted at forepath.org, PEDS Online is designed to keep data secure and in compliance with HIPAA standards.

PEDS Online is consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of screening and surveillance; through addressing and eliciting parents’ concerns at each well-visit; monitoring milestones at each well-visit and using an autism-specific screen at 18 and 24 months.

There are three approaches to using PEDS Online. These include:

1. Sending parents to the “parent portal” so they can complete measures before the visit (e.g., on a home computer or in an office kiosk). Parents will not see the results. Instead, providers will receive an e-mail alerting them of a completed screen.
2. Having office staff administer the measures, in real-time during an encounter at an interview, i.e., typing in parents’ responses in the website pages as they comment.
3. Letting parents self-administer the measures in paper-pencil format (e.g., in waiting or exam room) and then having office staff type in responses on the PEDS Online website.

More information about PEDS, PEDS: DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES, research and implementation of PEDS Online is available at http://pedstest.com

PEDS Online is available in a variety of languages.
For more information on how to set up the screening tool click the links below.
http://pedstest.com/online

For technical assistance and/or training regarding the setup of PEDS Online at your practice e-mail Megan.Hayes@medsocdel.org or call 302-224-5181.

Reference: 2010, Frances Glascoe, PEDSTest.com: Guide to Developmental-Behavioral Screening