Lift Up Your Hearts!

Parents in Rochester, New York no longer have to stay home with sick children, nor be inconvenienced by having to take them to the doctor, thanks to a program that connects schools and day care centers with doctors via the Internet. Little Johnny wakes up feeling miserable? No need to fret; just pack him off to school or day care anyway. There, a staff member with a whole week's worth of training will examine his ears, swab his throat, and otherwise check him out using equipment that sends the results over the Internet to a physician. The diagnosis is made, medication begun, and you pick your child up at the end of the day as usual, no fuss, no bother.

The good news is that if a day care worker can wield the equipment after a week of training, so can a parent. When our children were young we were blessed with a doctor who respected our powers of observation and judgment; he spared us many unnecessary trips to his office by dealing with minor problems over the telephone. Although few doctors these days are so accommodating, perhaps this new equipment will make them feel more comfortable with trusting their patients.

For the most part, however, I don't think this development is worthy of the enthusiasm with which it is being received.

• 92 percent of parents said the hassle-free option allowed them to stay at work when they otherwise would have taken their children to a family doctor or an emergency room

This may look like good news for parents, but the only clear winners are their employers. What begins as a new option for parents will soon translate into pressure from the boss: You don't need to take your child to the doctor; let the school handle it.

• doctors have diagnosed mostly everyday illnesses like colds, rashes, asthma, ringworm and pink eye that account for almost three-quarters of all pediatric office visits

The doctors can't really be happy about this. At the moment it's a physician at the University of Rochester who is giving the diagnosis, but you can be sure someone has already realized the job can be done less expensively by "offshoring" the work. If the diagnostic information can be sent across town, it can be sent anywhere in the world.

• any patient with a fever or a contagious disease is sent home

Except for severe cases, you know that isn't going to happen. Do schools and day care centers really want to become infirmaries? I doubt the (temporarily) healthy teachers, children, and their families will be happy with the idea.

• ...available where children spend the majority of their time, such as schools and child-care centers

This is the saddest line of all. Who really loses with this new technology? The children. Now even illness can't guarantee them time in their own homes, with their own families.