American Academy of Pediatrics Calls for Communication, Pediatric-Specific Standards for Patient Care Provided Outside a Child’s Medical Home

The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated recommendations that affirm it is best for children to receive nonemergency medical care at their medical home while also recognizing that families sometimes seek care at urgent centers, retail or school health clinics, or emergency rooms. A policy statement, “Nonemergency Acute Care Delivered Outside of the Medical Home,” published in the June 2026 Pediatrics (published online May 18) emphasizes the need for coordination and high-quality care with the child’s medical home.

The policy statement, updated from 2017 recommendations, recognizes the growth and diversity of nonemergency acute care models, including direct to consumer telemedicine, community based mental health crisis services, emergency medicine services paramedicine, school-based health centers, retail clinics and urgent care centers and school based health centers. In addition, families increasingly seek nonemergency care across multiple settings due to access, convenience, timing, and cost. All settings that care for children should meet pediatric-specific standards for training, equipment, quality, and stewardship, including appropriate use of antibiotics and diagnostics.

Pediatricians and pediatric practices play a key role in engaging with the broader medical neighborhood and strengthening access within the medical home—such as extended hours, telehealth, and flexible scheduling—to better meet families’ needs.

Policy statements created by AAP are written by medical experts, reflect the latest evidence in the field, and go through several rounds of peer review before being approved by the AAP Board of Directors and published in Pediatrics.  

For a copy of the policy statement or an interview with an author, contact AAP Public Affairs.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.