TeleCritical Care Reimagined: Efficiency Through Digital Communication Application

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Health Informatics
• Telemedicine

Background:

• TeleCritical Care (TCC) programs are vital for enhancing patient outcomes through early detection and efficient response.
• Effective inter-team communication is crucial in TCC due to high clinician-to-patient ratios and hybrid care environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development, design, and implementation of a web-based software for intensive care unit (ICU) call intake.
• To evaluate the benefits of this system in a large TCC program.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web-based software program utilizing the Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) format for ICU call intake.
• Implementation within a large-scale TeleCritical Care program.

Main Results:

• Observed improvements in communication quality and collaboration between TCC teams and bedside providers.
• Demonstrated timely response and enhanced quality reporting capabilities.
• Facilitated collaboration among providers across different hubs, supporting a hybrid coverage model.

Conclusions:

• Team-based call intake using a structured web-based system enhances communication and collaboration in TCC.
• The implemented system supports hybrid care models and improves overall efficiency and patient care in intensive care settings.