Application of a robot for critical care rounding in small rural hospitals

The purpose of this article is to present an option for a model of care that allows small rural hospitals to be able to provide specialty physicians for critical care patient needs in lieu of on-site critical care physician coverage. A real-time, 2-way audio and video remote presence robot is used to bring a specialist to the bedside to interact with patients. This article discusses improvements in quality and finance outcomes as well as care team and patient satisfaction associated with this model. Discussion also includes expansion of the care model to the emergency department for acute stroke care.