Letter from Shelly Voet, MD - Executive Community Physician Leader
June 24, 2024
Hello to my fellow pediatric PCPs. I hope you all are enjoying your summer.
In the last month or so, our predominant chief complaint in primary care has been cough. In some cases, there has been a (generally) mild community acquired pneumonia. There have been questions about if we know for certain what organism we are seeing, especially in kids with pneumonia. ID faculty have shared that while respiratory viruses in children are tracked nationally (including data from CCHMC) at the CDC site HERE , there is currently no national tracking of atypical bacteria like mycoplasma. We PCPs continue to do as we learned: to take care of the patient and look at the whole picture. We are also keeping in mind a recent outbreak of pertussis in Central Kentucky, although Cincinnati Children’s numbers have remained relatively stable so far.
This issue of Synapse includes a few updates and reminders. First, please watch for the Weekly Vitals next week for information about the changes coming for E-Consult. As I mentioned in my letter last month, E-Consult is an EPIC function that has been used nationally to improve specialty care access. Beginning July 9, Cincinnati Children’s will be trialing a more detailed, billable E-Consult with Neurology and Genetics. Our CPAC group has tested the system with the IS team and provided input. Please reach out to your physician liaison if you have questions, concerns or feedback about the changes. E-Consults for the other divisions are not changing at this time.
For those PCPs who use the HAIKU app for Cincinnati Children’s (read only for non-employed providers), please be sure to update the application to maintain access. You can access instructions HERE.
For Epic Link users, there is an article included that shares how to access psychosocial screening completed at Cincinnati Children’s . This may be helpful to review as you do pre-visit planning for more complex patients.
This issue includes information from the Center for ADHD on parenting classes for preschool age children with known or suspected ADHD. We are also sharing an article regarding Cincinnati Children’s plans for adding a primary care practice in Loveland, Ohio in 2025.
As we look forward to July, remember that CCHMC is welcoming new pediatric interns on campus. Our CPAC team welcomes Chief Resident Liezelle Lopez MD to our Communications Committee. Third- and fourth-year medical students will be beginning new clinical years. Thank you to all who teach medical learners how to care for kids!
Finally, many of us who trained in Cincinnati had the privilege to know and learn from Dr. Robert Wilmott, former Chairman of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s . Dr. Wilmott passed away in May of 2024, leaving a strong legacy in pediatric pulmonary medicine. A tribute to Dr. Wilmott can be found in this issue.
Thanks for all you do!
Shelly F. Voet MD
Pediatric Associates PSC
Cincinnati Children’s Executive Community Physician Leader