The pediatric neurology and pediatric psychology divisions at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital have launched an exciting new educational program for clinical providers, Pediatric Headache ECHO.
The Pediatric Headache ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) series is designed to allow primary care providers to better manage headache patients within the scope of their practice, referring to specialists on a more selective basis and thus decreasing the wait time for those patients who require the care of a neurologic specialist.
The ECHO program uses video conferencing to help educate and share information with primary care providers. This “telementoring” approach gives physicians and other health care providers an opportunity to consult with other doctors and specialists on particular cases and to learn from each other. These conferences will also benefit patients and families, as they will ultimately receive input from neurologists, psychologists, pharmacists, and other specialists without the added cost and stress of making a visit to a specialized clinic.
Our telementoring plan is inspired by similar programs that have seen success treating other illnesses via videoconferencing courses, presentations, and consultations and demonstrated outcome as good or better than when the patients waited long times and drove long distance to see a specialist.
The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital ECHO is the first such program anywhere directed at pediatric headache training.
The ECHO format will consist of eight one-hour sessions, each consisting of a brief didactic talk followed by discussion of several cases submitted by the participants.
Participants will gain expertise in managing current and future patients through the case discussion format.
Our plan is to run the sessions from 5:30-6:30 pm on Wednesdays, starting on June 1, 2022 and taking place approximately every other week. Participants are asked to commit to participate in at least six of the eight sessions.
Note: Pediatric Headache ECHO participation will fulfill the requirement of three hours of training in pain and symptom management required for the every-three-year renewal.
For more information or to apply, contact Carrie Klein at [email protected].
Additional resources:
- Tentative Pediatric ECHO Schedule (pdf)
- Project ECHO: A Revolution in Medical Education and Care Delivery
- AAP Overview on ECHO
CME ACCREDITATION
The University of Michigan Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Michigan Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
None of the presenters or planners have a conflict of interest.
In order to support the growth of the ECHO movement, Project ECHO® collects participation data for each teleECHO™ program. This data allows Project ECHO to measure, analyze, and report on the movement’s reach. It is used in reports, on maps and visualizations, for research, for communications and surveys, for data quality assurance activities, and for decision making related to new initiatives.