More than half of parents feel rushed through pediatrician appointments, and 48% leave feeling unclear about next steps.
So found a new survey, conducted by Zarminali Pediatrics, that reached 405 parents with private health insurance. The survey aimed to understand the evolving needs of today’s families. Zarminali is a newer tech-enabled pediatric multispeciality group aiming to build a more coordinated and family-centered pediatric care model at scale.
“In healthcare, we accept a much lower bar on the quality of the technology … for something much more critical to our lives,” Danish Qureshi, founder and CEO of Zarminali Pediatrics, told Fierce Healthcare in an advance interview.
The finding about how many parents feel rushed and unclear about next steps highlights a disconnect between clinician and family, the report said. There is a strong need for providers to offer more time per visit and provide clearer post-visit summaries. Additionally, increasing availability of providers for follow-up questions and off-hours communication are also key to supporting families, per the report.
Three-quarters of respondents have children with one or more clinicians beyond their pediatrician. Eighty percent of parents reported repeatedly having to share their child’s medical history with providers. The vast majority of parents said having their child’s full health history and visit notes in one centralized system would be helpful, yet only 10% have access to such a system.
“Parents are clear—modernizing communication and scheduling is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” the report said. “Technology should connect the dots—not create more friction.”
Most respondents said intentional tech use is important in provider choice, with 48% considering it to be “very important.” Top preferences for communication were phone (70%) and patient portals (50%), though millennial parents favored apps more heavily than Generation X and Gen Z parents.
The vast majority (95%) of parents find being able to contact the doctor’s office outside regular business hours important. During regular hours, half of parents had to delay or skip a visit due to limited availability and scheduling challenges, the survey found. Despite this, only 13% used telehealth as an alternative, “signaling that for many, today’s version of virtual care is not seen as a viable replacement for an in-person visit,” the report said.
Qureshi acknowledged that many of the survey’s findings reflect existing patient experience research about outdated tech and a lack of visibility into patient records. The difference is who the patient is.
“As adults, there’s a certain level of willingness to skip a visit or take convenience over your annual checkup,” he said. “But when it comes to your child, it’s a different story. There is a much more focus level on ensuring your child is getting the best care possible, and that you’re not accidentally missing a milestone or leaving an appointment uninformed.”
Qureshi’s daughter was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder last year, which “changed everything.” As he tried to navigate specialists in Chicago, he found care coordination was basically nonexistent. That was his experience as someone with means, living in a major city with academic health systems.
“That entire system is set up in a way that makes it nearly impossible to do that in an effective way,” he recalled. “This just can’t be how pediatrics works in this country.”
The Zarminali approach is to have a singularly branded national multispecialty practice, one with clinics that are co-located with urgent care centers and that directly employ both pediatricians and specialists. Its namesake comes from the name Zarmina, which in Pashto means “something that is more precious to you than gold.”
The company launched in late 2024 with $40 million in seed funding from General Catalyst. Zarminali currently operates in seven states, with both in-person and virtual care options. The company expects to be in 10 states by the end of 2025 and in the top 30 states by population in the next 36 months. Zarminali takes all major commercial health plans, and Qureshi hopes to eventually take Medicaid.
“We very much believe that it’s possible to deliver really good care to as many people as possible in what feels like a concierge-style service without actually having to charge concierge-type prices," Qureshi said.
The startup recently welcomed its new chief technology officer, Syed Hassan, who will lead the company’s efforts to bridge the gaps in care parents and clinicians are navigating with thoughtful technology. Hassan was previously senior vice president of engineering at Hims & Hers, driving development of its platform.
“His unique lens on how to lower the barrier for [families] to be able to get great healthcare is the exact profile we’re hoping for,” Qureshi said. While most healthcare organizations today seem focused on back-office investment in technology, he added, such as to alleviate scribing or coding, “there is still a lack of investment and focus on the consumer side.”