Therefore, the most able physicians are those who use treatments that have been shown to do more good than harm. Rebabilitation is the fourth critical area of skill. An able doctor tries to rehabilitate a child with a chronic problem, to enable the child to live with as few limitations as possible. In the case of asthma, medication given when the child is well will usually prevent attacks and allow the child to attend school and play sports. In the case of cerebral palsy, the doctor should know which medical and non-medical consultants can help the child lead as full a life as he or she can.
Children get sick, and parents have anxieties, at all times of the day and night.
Most often the experienced parent knows when a problem is a real emergency and the child needs to be seen by a doctor without delay. But parents need time to acquire experience, and they need sources of information. Nevertheless, most parents, no matter how experienced and knowledgeable they are, will need to get in touch with their doctor sometime because their child has an acute problem. And that's when accessibility becomes crucial. Even during office hours, a very busy doctor may be hard to reach because the telephone is constantly in use.