Abstract
Although mortality and morbidity statistics are continually improving, benefits of NICU care for the infant weighing less than 1,500 grams will be measured in long term follow-up. Compliance rates in hospital-based follow-up programs are poor due to geographic limits, financial considerations, ethnic adjustments, and poor communication. Since most births occur in the community hospital settings, and parents will gravitate to private pediatricians, it seems natural that the pediatrician be involved in the care of NICU graduates in a well-defined program. The pediatrician oftentimes has intimate knowledge of the family, its goals and attitudes. Knowledge about referral centers, financial aid, and counseling within the community point to a more direct role for the private pediatrician. An organized approach includes a program for the first and subsequent well child visits and a protocol for recording growth data, nutritional information, laboratory data, Denver Developmental Testing, psychological evaluations, auditory and visual evoked potentials, photographs, and subspecialty referrals. If the neonatologist at the tertiary center organizes this “private pediatric group”, a program can evolve which will service more physicians and patients. The pediatrician will remain interested in the total spectrum of NICU care, and will insure continuity of total care.
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Martin, G., Ireland, W., Furman, G. et al. 674 THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE PEDIATRICIAN IN FOLLOW-UP OF NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE GRADUATES. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 554 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00697
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00697