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In-Hospital Telehealth Supports Care for Neonatal Patients in Strict Isolation
Rachel A Umoren1,2, Megan M Gray1,2, Sarah Handley1,2
1Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington.
Insights
In-hospital telemedicine is feasible for pediatric patients in isolation, enhancing care and consultations. This approach reduces healthcare provider exposure and personal protective equipment use during infectious outbreaks.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Infectious Disease Management
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Strict isolation protocols are necessary for highly infectious viral illnesses.
- Maintaining comprehensive inpatient care and supportive services during isolation presents challenges.
- Minimizing healthcare provider exposure and resource consumption is critical in isolation settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of implementing in-hospital inpatient telemedicine.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of telemedicine in facilitating inpatient care activities.
- To determine the impact of telemedicine on healthcare provider exposure and personal protective equipment (PPE) usage.
Main Methods:
- A dedicated telemedicine device with a Bluetooth stethoscope was utilized.
- The healthcare team operated the device from outside the patient's room.
- Telemedicine facilitated interprofessional rounding and supportive service consultations.
Main Results:
- In-hospital telemedicine successfully supported inpatient care and consultations.
- The use of telemedicine reduced the number of healthcare providers with potential exposure to infection.
- Telemedicine implementation led to decreased personal protective equipment (PPE) consumption.
Conclusions:
- In-hospital telemedicine is a viable solution for patient care during strict isolation.
- Telemedicine enhances the delivery of essential services to isolated pediatric patients.
- This technology offers significant benefits in infection control and resource management during outbreaks.
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of "in-hospital" inpatient telemedicine within a children's referral hospital to facilitate inpatient care activities such as interprofessional rounding and the provision of supportive services such as lactation consultations to pediatric patients in strict isolation. To test the feasibility of in-hospital video telemedicine, a dedicated telemedicine device was set up in the patient's room. This device and the accompanying Bluetooth stethoscope were used by the health care team located just outside the room for inpatient rounding and consultations from supportive services. Video telemedicine facilitated inpatient care and interactions with support services, reducing the number of health care providers with potential exposure to infection and decreasing personal protective equipment use. In the setting of strict isolation for highly infectious viral illness, telemedicine can be used for inpatient care activities such as interprofessional rounding and provision of supportive services. KEY POINTS: · Telehealth supports patient care in isolation.. · Telehealth reduced health care provider exposures.. · Telehealth conserves personal protective equipment..
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