Pediatric medical subspecialists offer care to children with uncommon or atypical health issues, those who haven’t responded well to standard primary care treatments, or those requiring specialized diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Evaluating whether the number and distribution of these subspecialists meet the needs of the nation’s children is difficult due to a lack of evidence about how frequently their services are utilized.

This article discusses a study that used 3 complementary data sources to quantify children’s use of pediatric medical subspecialties from 2011 to 2021. Electronic health record data from large pediatric medical centers and administrative data from Medicaid and commercial plans were also evaluated.