CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte mom said she was floored after learning the wait time for a doctor’s appointment with a developmental pediatrician was close to a full year.
She quickly learned she was not alone, and both hospital systems in the area are scheduling appointments months out.
The healthcare systems said it’s due in part to a nationwide shortage of these types of specialists and an increased need for them due to the pandemic.
Shantel Culver would do anything for her 7-year-old twins.
Last year, one of her daughters was diagnosed with ADHD, but she's concerned it may be a misdiagnosis and desperately wants to talk to a specialist to address some of her symptoms.
She was referred and called at the start of the year for an appointment.
“Their response was the next available appointment was in December of 2023. A fly could’ve flown into my mouth," Culver said. "I was absolutely flabbergasted."
She was able to get an appointment through another network, but that one’s in May. She said it’s disheartening, and urgently wants to get her daughter the help she needs.
She posted in a Charlotte mom’s group on Facebook asking for advice.
“I was not expecting the number of responses and the commiseration that I got from other moms of extremely long waits for specialists," Culver said.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are only 758 board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians in the United States for the 19 million kids with developmental or learning disorders.
Officials with both Novant and Atrium Health say that is why patients are experiencing these waits as they work to recruit more specialists.
In a statement, Novant health officials said in part they “made adjustments to our referral process to aid the team in triaging patients in need of services."
Full statement from Novant Health:
Sadly, the field of pediatric mental health and behavioral specialists is facing a national crisis, as providers face burnout, resulting in a shortage of specialists trained to evaluate and treat a growing volume of cases. At the same time, the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an increased need for behavioral and developmental care for children. The compounding result is longer than usual wait time for patient appointments with these specialists, and it’s an issue we take seriously.
In addition to our ongoing recruitment and retention efforts, we’ve partnered with pediatric family and behavioral health providers to embed them across four of our pediatric multispecialty clinics. We have also made adjustments to our referral process to aid the team in triaging patients in need of services. At Novant Health, we remain committed to providing remarkable care to all of our patients and to our communities. We know that access to care is crucial for families, and will not waver from our commitment to be leaders in pediatric care.
And Atrium Health released the following statement:
With a national shortage of developmental-behavioral pediatricians (DBPs), Atrium Health Levine Children’s has also seen an increased need for DBPs and is actively working to help expand access to care for patients with developmental-behavioral needs. We are proud that Levine Children’s wait time is approximately half that of other health care systems, but we also recognize any time spent waiting for a child to be seen is challenging for a family. Our work to expand access includes diligently recruiting more DBPs and child psychologists, as well as building upon existing relationships with a patient’s primary care provider (PCP) to implement a system that, when appropriate, allows initial evaluation and care through their PCP. It’s important to note that a diagnosis isn’t necessary for a child to receive therapies. A child with a developmental delay of any kind can be referred for early intervention services and therapies by their PCP, beginning the treatment process even before they are seen by a DBP for an official diagnosis. Once a patient receives an initial DBP consultation, our DBPs and PCPs work together to transition care back to the PCP when appropriate. This allows for new patients to be seen quicker.
We are working tirelessly to expand our team and capabilities to be as efficient as possible, keeping in mind that developmental-behavioral disorders can be complex to diagnose and treat. It is important that every patient, including developmental-behavioral patients, is treated with the best, most personalized care.
Culver is staying strong for her daughter, and hoping they’ll get off the waitlist sooner rather than later.
"It's ridiculous," Culver said. "I don’t know how anyone who cares about their child and is really trying to do the right thing by their child would be able to function."
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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