Cool, looks like a win-win situation for everybody. Mother doesn't miss work, kid is treated appropriately, and the Emergency Department has one less "sub-acute" patient.

ROCHESTER, New York (AP) — Marilyn Gonzalez worried that her 2-year-old was coming down with an ear infection. Rather than miss work for a doctor visit, the 25-year-old single mother of two dropped her daughter off as usual at the day care and went to work.

Little Jaeda was examined soon afterward by a University of Rochester pediatrician and given antibiotics. Using telemedicine tools wielded by a day care staffer, the diagnosis was done through the Internet.

Though there were some technical problems, sickness-related child absences dropped on average by 63 percent at the pilot centers. They serve about 950 children of mostly low-income families with little or no health insurance, according to a study published this week in the journal Pediatrics.

In addition, it said, 92 percent of parents said the hassle-free option allowed them to stay at work when they otherwise would have taken their children to a family doctor or an emergency room.

Source: [1] CNN.com