Ian Miller, Program Lead, Digital Medicine Society

Pediatric digital health is evolving rapidly, offering exciting opportunities alongside complex challenges. As technology continues to reshape healthcare, we must ensure innovations advance care while addressing persistent barriers to accessibility, personalization, and effectiveness for children and families.

Investment in pediatric digital health is growing, but still represents a small fraction of overall digital health funding. As part of The Playbook: Pediatric Digital Medicine team, I sat down with project partners to learn what lies ahead for pediatric care in 2025 and beyond. These insights align with key playbook themes, including hybrid care models, clinician empowerment, data privacy, and child-centered, personalized tools. Here’s what we’re watching:

Addressing critical needs: mental health & chronic disease

Pediatric mental health startups have attracted investment in recent years, but the fragmented market makes it difficult for families to navigate available resources. At the same time, digital health innovation for chronic conditions such as asthma, obesity, and mental health remains in its early stages. For these complex and chronic conditions, schools – a natural touchpoint for pediatric health – hold the potential to play a much larger role in screening and digital health outreach, as pediatric health needs evolve, digital tools have the potential to bridge critical gaps. By integrating synchronous technologies with in-person care, providers can enhance access, coordination, and engagement—ensuring children receive the right support at the right time.

Hybrid care models will become the norm

A fully digital model isn’t the right fit for most kids. Synchronous digital health—such as telehealth, digital therapeutics, and remote monitoring—is transforming pediatric care by enabling real-time interactions that supplement in-person care. These technologies facilitate immediate engagement between patients, caregivers, and clinicians. Digital therapeutics, for example, can complement in-person occupational therapy for children with ADHD and autism by providing tailored at-home exercises. By expanding access to pediatric specialists and enabling more efficient clinician collaboration, telehealth can drive better health outcomes at a lower cost and ensure children receive specialized care no matter where they live.

The future lies in hybrid approaches that seamlessly integrate digital tools with in-person care—offering convenience while maintaining the hands-on, trust-building relationships children need.  Expect to see deeper integration of digital solutions that enhance, rather than replace, traditional pediatric care.

Empowering pediatric clinicians and caregivers

Pediatric clinicians are contending with rising workloads, burnout, and the spread of health misinformation. Digital tools must do more than digitize existing workflows; they must actively support clinicians, reducing administrative burden while strengthening relationships with families. The only way to do that is to embed these experts into product design and development. Additionally, there is an untapped opportunity to enhance digital tools for caregivers of children with special needs, providing targeted education and support to ease the burden on families while improving health outcomes.

Navigating data privacy and sharing

As children grow, managing proxy access to their medical records becomes increasingly complex. Balancing a child’s right to privacy with a parent’s need for access presents ethical and legal challenges. Liability concerns and public perception have slowed progress in this space, but digital health innovators must design products that anticipate evolving privacy regulations. Pediatrics can serve as a proving ground for responsible data-sharing models that prioritize both security and usability.

Bridging the digital divide and ensuring access

Equitable access remains one of the biggest hurdles in pediatric digital health. Financial barriers, lack of broadband internet, and limited access to devices prevent many families from benefiting from digital innovations. Telehealth has shown promise in closing some of these gaps, particularly for historically marginalized populations, but achieving true equity requires systemic investment in financial, educational, and technological resources to ensure no child is left behind.

What’s on the horizon?

Emerging technologies have the potential to redefine pediatric care in the coming years. I asked The Playbook team for some (bold) predictions:

• AI-driven personalized care plans and diagnostics: combining real-time data to tailor treatments and enable faster, more accurate diagnoses, ensuring timely interventions and improving pediatric care outcomes.
• Augmented reality for pain management: using immersive technology to help children manage discomfort and anxiety during therapy.
• Flexible, wearable sensors that seamlessly track chronic conditions, providing constant data without disrupting daily life.
• Virtual reality tools to teach children about their health in engaging and interactive ways, improving understanding and self-care.
• New devices to accelerate clinical development: facilitating better testing, faster data collection, and improved pediatric trial outcomes.

 The future of pediatric digital health will be shaped by collaboration, innovation, and a deep commitment to children, families, and clinicians. By embracing hybrid care models, empowering providers, safeguarding data privacy, and bridging the digital divide, we can build a future where every child has access to high-quality, equitable, and evidence-based care.

The next era of pediatric digital health isn’t just about developing new technology—it’s about ensuring that technology truly works for children. Let’s build it together.

Footnotes

1. Bashi, N., Fatehi, F., Mosadeghi-Nik, M., Askari, M. S., & Karunanithi, M. (2020). Digital health interventions for chronic diseases: A scoping review of evaluation frameworks. BMJ Health Care Informatics, 27(1), e100066. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2019-100066
2. Bird, M., et al. (2019). Use of synchronous digital health technologies for the care of children with special health care needs and their families: Scoping review. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 2(2), e15106. https://doi.org/10.2196/15106
3. Cohen, E., et al. (2018). Models of care delivery for children with medical complexity. Pediatrics, 141(Supplement 3), S212-S223.
4. Curfman, A., et al. (2022). Telehealth: Opportunities to improve access, quality, and cost in pediatric care. Pediatrics, 149(3), e2021056035. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-056035
5. Li, S., & Lu, Z. (2019). The use of mobile health technology in children’s health: A review of literature. Pediatrics, 24(2), e14429. https://doi.org/10.2196/14429
6. Oh, S., Choi, J., Han, D. H., & Kim, E. (2024). Effects of game-based digital therapeutics on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents as assessed by parents or teachers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(2), 481–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02174-z
7. Rock Health. (2024). Next-gen innovation opportunities in pediatric digital health. https://rockhealth.com/insights/next-gen-innovation-opportunities-in-pediatric-digital-health/
8. Terrell, E., et al. (2021). The evolution of telehealth from pre-COVID-19 pandemic through a hybrid virtual care delivery model: A pediatric hospital’s journey. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 13(2), e6432. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6432