Gaps in Pediatric Cardiac Care: Opportunities to Make a Difference

Dramatic surgical and medical advances in congenital heart disease over the past 50 years have led to progressive increases in survival for children born with heart defects, with the vast majority now expected to survive into adulthood. Children with the most severe spectrum of congenital heart disease, those with functionally univentricular hearts, continue to face a significant burden of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the first 6 months of life. This review summarizes a strategy to address the gaps in care for these children by examining the 7-year experience with a novel, tablet and cloud-based home monitoring program called CHAMP. We explore the gaps in care that we sought to address, as well as unexpected opportunities that we discovered during this experience.