We, as parent caregivers, write to you on behalf of 247 parents of children with chronic, complex, medical conditions from various locations across the United States. We are parent caregivers of a unique population of fun, bright, and talented children with incredibly complicated medical issues. Our children are unique; they do not follow a standard, 1-dimensional, format of care. They need constant, specialized, and coordinated care, and they rely on you to support their quality of life.Parenting a child with complex medical needs is a constant challenge that lacks a training manual. Our children arediagnosedwithanaverageof10medicalconditionsand are cared for by an average of 13 outpatient physicians and 6subspecialists.Manychildrenrequirelife-sustainingtechnology to manage their medical needs. Ironically, the primary responsibility to coordinate this care and to navigate the health care system is left to the parents.We, as parents, are the voices of our children. Those voices, however, are often muted by judgment or lack of understanding from many health care clinicians. Partnering with researchers from Franciscan Children's in Brighton, Massachusetts, on a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute engagement project, 1 we identified and quantified the health care obstacles that parents routinely encounter during the course of medical care for their children. A series of 735 surveys were completed across 15 months,andparentsrankedcoordinationofcareandcaregiver stress among the most challenging issues.We write to help our children's physicians, who are vital links to their future, understand some of these issues. We consolidated the most compelling survey responses below. Please hear our voices and work with us to help our children live their best lives.
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