Iris Telehealth Data Reveals 60% of Parents Seek Children's Behavioral Health Information from Pediatricians
The new study shows pediatricians hold the system together as parents navigate kids' mental health without a map
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Iris Telehealth, a leading provider of telepsychiatry and behavioral health solutions for health systems and community organizations, today released the findings of its new survey exploring how parents address behavioral health challenges with their children.
Read the full report: Pediatricians Have Become the Default Entry Point for Kids' Behavioral Health.
The study reveals pediatricians are the default entry point for children's behavioral health, a role that stretches beyond their primary focus. While 60% of parents seek information from their pediatrician or healthcare provider for support, 42% look to friends and family, 40% visit online resources, and only 11% go straight to a mental health professional.
"Parents are navigating children's behavioral health through a fragmented system with no clear roadmap for when to escalate to professional care. As a result, they rely on pediatricians who are trusted and accessible, but inadvertently add strain to the provider," said Andy Flanagan, CEO of Iris Telehealth. "By embedding child psychiatrists and behavioral health clinicians into a health system's existing workflow, pediatricians can have specialist support on hand and connect families with the specialized resources they need."
Additional key findings from the survey include:
- Pediatricians prescribe more behavioral health medication than child psychiatrists do. Among parents whose children have taken medication for a behavioral or emotional challenge, 44% say a pediatrician wrote the prescription, while only 38% say it came from a child psychiatrist.
- Parents need to know when to seek professional help. Parents are divided on when to seek clinical guidance, with only 23% doing so when a concern arises, 22% at least monthly, 21% every few months, and 20% never doing so.
- Parents aren't anti-medication. They're pro-sequencing. The data points to a strong preference for a sequenced approach to care, where 45% of parents want to start with skill-building and behavioral interventions and only consider medication when needed or in combination with other supports. Only 7% of parents say medication should typically be tried first, 27% say it depends on the situation and 18% favor skill-building and medication together.
"Parents and pediatricians both want children in their care to receive the tools and resources needed to thrive, but access is limited in many communities," said Flanagan. "Telehealth can bring psychiatric expertise into pediatric visits, enable easy scheduling for follow-up behavioral health encounters and give pediatricians more support to focus on patient care."
To explore the full survey findings and learn more about how Iris helps organizations build integrated behavioral support into pediatric and primary care, visit iristelehealth.com.
About Iris Telehealth
Iris Telehealth partners with healthcare organizations to design, build and strengthen behavioral health programs within existing care environments. Guided by practicing clinicians, Iris integrates expert providers and thoughtfully designed care models into everyday workflows, expanding access to high‑quality behavioral health care where patients already receive care. With insight and measurement woven into every solution, Iris helps organizations support providers, improve care delivery and achieve sustainable outcomes without adding unnecessary complexity.
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