Video rounding system: a pilot study in patient care

Integration of information technology (IT) with health care improvement is ever increasing. National initiatives, such as Transforming Care at the Bedside, and physician-nurse collaboration committees use IT to enhance patient care. We sought to determine the impact of "video rounding" on the post-operative care of endourologic inpatients.

Laptop computers with built-in Webcam and video conferencing software were used for real-time video and audio connections between patient and nurse at the bedside and urologist at a remote location. This video rounding system (VRS) was used in addition to standard rounds. Ten patients were randomly selected and consented to participate with one of two surgeons. Post-VRS surveys with six questions each were completed by patient, physician, and nurse using a 5-point Likert scale.

Ten physician, 10 patient, and 14 nursing surveys were filled for 10 patients who completed VRS. Of these patients, 90% strongly agreed/agreed that they could easily communicate with their physician using VRS. All patients strongly agreed that VRS should be a regular part of patient care and that they would be comfortable using VRS if their physician was unable to be in direct contact with them. All physicians and nurses strongly agreed/agreed that VRS was easy to use, enhanced patient care, would be a comfortable alternative if direct physician contact was not possible, and that it should be a regular part of institutional care. For all participants, video and audio quality were rated excellent/very good by 91.2% and 70.6%, respectively.

VRS has shown promising usefulness in enhancing patient care and improving communication between nurse, physician, and patient. VRS is not intended to replace daily face-to-face physician rounding. Additional features of this system are currently being evaluated, including four-way simultaneous video rounding as well as sending intraoperative photos and video clips for real-time patient/nurse education.