From the Patient's Perspective: Orthopedic Virtual Rounds

Area of Science:

• Healthcare technology
• Patient experience research
• Orthopedic surgery

Background:

• Interdisciplinary rounding is crucial for hospital patient care quality and safety.
• Increasing orthopedic group size and geographic spread challenge surgeons' ability to conduct daily in-person rounds.
• Virtual technology offers a solution for healthcare professionals to connect with patients when in-person visits are not feasible.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and understand the patient experience with virtual inpatient rounding.
• To assess the feasibility and patient acceptance of virtual rounding in an orthopedic setting.

Main Methods:

• Virtual rounds were conducted using digital communication technology, connecting surgeons via mobile devices or laptops to nursing unit communication tablets.
• Twenty-seven patient interviews were digitally recorded.
• Qualitative analysis was performed on the recorded interviews to interpret patient experiences.

Main Results:

• The study found that virtual rounds generally provided a positive patient experience.
• A majority of patients viewed virtual rounding as a suitable alternative when in-person rounds were not possible.
• Patient dissatisfaction was primarily linked to feeling rushed during virtual interactions with surgeons.

Conclusions:

• Virtual inpatient rounding can be a valuable tool, offering a positive patient experience and a viable alternative to in-person rounds.
• Addressing patient concerns about feeling rushed is essential for optimizing the virtual rounding experience.
• Feedback from this study can inform improvements in virtual rounding technologies and provider preparation.