Virtual Care Across the Neonatal Intensive Care Continuum

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Pediatric Healthcare Technology
• Family-Centered Care

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of parent and family engagement in healthcare.
• Limited literature exists on integrating families into inpatient neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care via virtual means.
• Existing research primarily focuses on outpatient telehealth transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an institution's experience implementing virtual medicine for the complete NICU patient journey.
• To detail the application of virtual medicine in inpatient rounding, child life services, and outpatient developmental follow-up.
• To highlight strategies for effective family inclusion in neonatal care using virtual platforms.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a virtual medicine strategy across the NICU continuum.
• Utilizing virtual platforms for inpatient rounds and family engagement activities.
• Extending virtual care to high-risk developmental follow-up post-discharge.

Main Results:

• Successful integration of virtual medicine for comprehensive NICU care.
• Facilitated parent and family engagement throughout inpatient and outpatient phases.
• Demonstrated feasibility of virtual rounding and specialized follow-up services.

Conclusions:

• Virtual medicine is a viable tool for enhancing family-centered care in the NICU.
• The described approach supports continuous engagement from admission through post-discharge care.
• Virtual platforms offer a scalable solution for family inclusion in neonatal intensive care.