Patient Experience of Virtual Hospital Care Provided by a Multidisciplinary Team: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Services Research
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Virtual hospitals deliver hospital-level care using digital technologies like remote monitoring and videoconferencing.
• These models offer patient-centered care and community health improvements but face significant challenges.
• Growing patient and caregiver preference for virtual care necessitates addressing these complexities.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify unique challenges in virtual hospitals providing multidisciplinary home care.
• Co-design recommendations to enhance the patient experience in virtual hospital settings.
• Contribute to optimizing virtual healthcare delivery models.

Main Methods:

• Mixed methods exploratory case study of a Sydney-based virtual hospital.
• Document analysis, secondary data analysis (including patient-reported measures), and direct observation.
• Semistructured interviews, co-designed focus groups, economic analysis, and comparative case studies.

Main Results:

• Initial phases include document analysis and observations.
• Multidisciplinary team meetings and clinician shadowing are underway.
• Analysis of Standards of Practice documents has commenced.

Conclusions:

• This study outlines a mixed methods approach to understanding patient experience in a new virtual hospital.
• Anticipates providing a comprehensive view of challenges faced by patients, carers, and healthcare workers.
• Aims to document informal solutions and inform best practices for virtual care.