"The most valuable part has been turning a clinical need into a project with direct impact on everyday paediatric practice"

We spoke with Dr Marta Castillo, a paediatrician at the Cardona Primary Care Team, who recently defended her doctoral thesis, co-supervised by the TIC Salut i Social Foundation Chair at UVic UCC. Her research focuses on evaluating a telepaediatrics project that incorporates remote physical examination in rural settings, aimed at managing acute conditions in children such as fever, cough, mucus and sore throat.

Could you tell us what the project involved?

The thesis looks at the feasibility, diagnostic reliability and overall assessment of a synchronous acute paediatric video consultation model, known as a videointerconsultation. This model involves healthcare professionals and incorporates remote physical examination. It is a prospective study conducted over 20 months, from June 2023 to January 2025, and includes 200 cases of children aged 0 to 14 who were treated using this approach in a rural primary care centre in Central Catalonia.

Each consultation took place between a paediatric nurse, who was with the patient, and a paediatrician connected remotely. The remote examination was carried out using a camera, a video otoscope and a digital stethoscope. All patients were subsequently assessed in person.

What results did you obtain?

Videointerconsultations proved feasible in 64.5% of cases, with a diagnostic agreement of 78.2% compared to face to face assessments. However, they took almost twice as long as a standard consultation. In terms of diagnostic performance, overall accuracy was very high at 0.99, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.98 to 1.00. Specificity was also 0.99, while sensitivity reached 0.90, although this varied depending on the condition being assessed. User satisfaction was particularly high at 95%, while 74.5% of professionals reported being satisfied. Taken together, these findings suggest that videointerconsultation could be integrated into rural primary care as a complementary tool to support in-person consultations in certain situations.

Are there any plans to continue the project in the future?

Yes. There is currently an ongoing project aimed at evaluating how these technologies can be incorporated into routine practice, as well as defining care pathways that improve problem solving capacity. Telemedicine plays a key role here, especially through the integration of devices similar to those used in the thesis.

Let’s talk about the process. What was your experience like while working on your thesis?

It has been an incredibly rewarding experience, both professionally and personally. The doctoral process has strengthened my training and critical thinking skills, but above all it has allowed me to carry out research that is closely aligned with real clinical practice. The most valuable part has been turning a clinical need into a project with direct impact on everyday paediatric practice.

Would you encourage other healthcare professionals to pursue a doctoral thesis at the TIC Salut i Social Foundation Chair?

Absolutely. I would especially encourage those interested in digital innovation in healthcare. It is a great opportunity to develop projects that have a real impact on clinical practice and the healthcare system, while also making it possible to balance research with day to day clinical work.

Scientific articles related to the thesis:

Castillo-Rodenas, M., Vicente Gómez, J. Á., Fuster-Casanovas, A., Miró Catalina, Q., Vidal-Alaball, J., & López Seguí, F. (2024). Impact of COVID-19 on the Pediatric Primary Care Model in Catalonia: Analysis of Changes in the Number and Type of Face-to-Face and Remote Visits. JMIR pediatrics and parenting, 7, e49943. https://doi.org/10.2196/49943

Castillo Rodenas, M., Vidal Alaball, J., Solanas Bacardit, N., Farràs Company, C., Fuster Casanovas, A., Miró Catalina, Q., & López Seguí, F. (2024). Feasibility of a paediatric acute video consultation process among health care professionals in primary care in a rural setting: Protocol for a prospective validation study. JMIR Research Protocols, 13, e52946. https://doi.org/10.2196/52946

Castillo Rodenas, M., Solanas Bacardit, N., Farràs Company, C., Miró Catalina, Q., Solà Reguant, L., Fuster Casanovas, A., López Seguí, F., & Vidal Alaball, J. (2026). Feasibility, diagnostic accuracy, and satisfaction of an acute paediatric video interconsultation model in rural primary care in Catalonia: Prospective observational study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 9, e82133. https://doi.org/10.2196/82133

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