Sick child? Children’s Hospital has an app for that

If you need to determine what dosage of over-the-counter medicine to give your child, or why a rash still hasn’t gone away, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC has an app for that.

ChildrensPgh, released for iPhones, iPads and iPods in March, and now available to Android users, provides various useful resources for parents and physicians alike.

Frequently used features include an appointment service, emergency contact list, and an easy-to-use symptom guide.

The latter is incredibly useful, says Raymond Pitetti, M.D., of Children’s Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

“Parents tell me they aren’t sure what they can trust online.  This they can trust,” he says.  “Everything we put online we look at ourselves to make sure it’s consistent with what we believe.”

Parents can search by body part or by symptom. If the app advises they consult a physician immediately, it provides emergency numbers and directions.

Pitetti uses the app himself, and comments that non-pediatric doctors can find helpful information on it as well.  He often uses the app’s mapping feature to direct parents to the hospital from their current location.

Now it easier than ever to figure out what your child’s rash might be, and what you can do about it.

The ChildrensPgh app can be downloaded from the Android Market, Apple’s iTunes store, or from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s website.

Writer:  Lindsay Derda

Source: Raymond Pitetti, M.D., Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC