Implementation of a Real-Time Virtual Rounding Queue on Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Rounding Practices: A Survey of...

While family-centered rounds (FCR) are considered the standard of care, coordinating the presence of all stakeholders without knowing when the medical team will arrive makes achieving this difficult. To address this barrier, we created a novel software, Q-rounds, that is integrated into the electronic health record and creates a real-time rounding queue that updates nurses and family members on provider rounding time and allows families to join in person or remotely via phone. A previous observational study showed that the implementation of Q-rounds in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) led to increased nurse and family presence.

In this subsequent study, we aimed to understand clinicians' perceptions of the use of Q-rounds on NICU rounding practices, such as the impact on rounding efficiency and clinician satisfaction, as well as facilitators and barriers in its implementation.

Q-rounds was implemented in the M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital NICU in May 2023. In this survey study, surveys were distributed to providers and nurses six weeks before implementation and six weeks after, to collect data on the impact of Q-rounds on FCR. Data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.

There were 118 respondents in the pre-implementation phase and 110 in the post-implementation phase. After implementation of Q-rounds, clinicians perceived an increase in nurse presence ("most of the time" 46% to 75%; P value<.001) and family presence ("at least sometimes" 46% to 97%; P value<.001) on rounds. Respondents perceived rounds as more efficient (53% to 75%; P value 0.006) and more indicated being satisfied with rounds (46% to 74%; P value 0.003). There was no perceived difference in rounding duration. These findings were supported by thematic analysis of open-ended responses.

A novel virtual rounding queue software that notifies families and nurses of when to expect the rounding team is associated with increased clinician perception of efficiency, participation in rounds by nurses and families, and increased satisfaction with rounds.

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