Televisitation: virtual transportation of family to the bedside in an acute care setting

Televisitation is the virtual transportation of a patient's family to the bedside, regardless of the patient's location within an acute care setting. This innovation in the Telemedicine Program at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) in Ontario, Canada, embraces the concept of patient- and family-centered care and has been identified as a leading practice by Accreditation Canada. The need to find creative ways to link patients to their family and friend supports hundreds of miles away was identified more than ten years ago. The important relationship between health outcomes and the psychosocial needs of patients and families has been recognized more recently. TBRHSC's patient- and family-centered model of care focuses on connecting patients with their families. First Nations renal patients with family in remote communities were some of the earliest users of videoconferencing technology for this purpose.