Project description:What is known and objectiveThe scope of clinical pharmacy services has changed during COVID-19 pandemic with the view to mitigating both exposure and spread of the virus. The performance of novel pandemic-driven services such as tele-pharmacy has remained unexplored, until now. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of healthcare providers of the impact of tele-pharmacy services provided in critical care units during COVID-19.MethodsA qualitative study of semi-structured interviews conducted with healthcare practitioners who worked in COVID-19 intensive care units and remotely interacted with clinical pharmacists at the Weill Cornell-affiliated Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. Random sampling technique was employed to recruit participants, with the resultant interview guide piloted before commencement of data collection process.Results and discussionFrom a total 129 and 200 physicians and nurses, respectively, 20 interviews were conducted with physicians (n = 15), and nurses (n = 5). From these interactions, a number of major themes emerged including: satisfactory understanding across clinical environment and personnel (physician and nurses) about remote clinical pharmacists' roles; additional robust feedback on the perception of the remote clinical pharmacy service; an understanding by 'frontline' health personnel on the discernible differences between remote and in-person coverage of clinical pharmacists; a reflection by both physicians and nurses on the novel challenges involved in the implementation of such pandemic-driven service; and solutions to overcome these challenges.What is new and conclusionIn this novel qualitative study of pandemic-driven tele-pharmacy service, we found a positive perception amongst healthcare practitioners towards this service; with residual challenges that will need further evaluation by large sampled sized surveys or mixed methods research.
Project description:IntroductionDaily multidisciplinary rounds (DMRs) consist of systematic patient-centred discussions aiming to establish joint therapeutic goals for the next 24 hours of intensive care unit (ICU) care. The aim of the present study protocol is to evaluate whether an intervention consisting of guided DMRs, supported by a remote specialist and audit/feedback on care performance will reduce ICU length of stay compared with a control group.Methods and analysisA multicentre, controlled, cluster-randomised superiority trial including 30 ICUs in Brazil (15 intervention and 15 control), from August 2019 to June 2021. In a parallel assignment, ICUs are randomised to a complex-intervention composed by daily rounds carried out through Tele-ICU by a remote ICU physician; development of local quality indicators dashboards coupled with monthly meetings with local leadership; and dissemination of evidence-based clinical protocols versus usual care. Primary outcome is ICU length of stay. Secondary outcomes include classification of the unit according to the profiles defined by the standardised resource use and the standardised mortality rate, hospital mortality, incidence of healthcare-associated infections, ventilator-free days at 28 days, patient-days receiving oral or enteral feeding, patient-days under light sedation or alert and calm, rate of patients under normoxaemia. All adult patients admitted after the beginning of the study in each participant ICU will be enrolled. Inclusion criteria (clusters): public Brazilian ICUs with a minimum of 8 ICU beds interested/committed to participating in the study. Exclusion criteria (clusters): units with fully established DMRs by an intensivist, specialised or step-down units.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol was approved by the institutional review board (IRB) of the coordinator centre, and by IRBs of each enrolled hospital/ICU. Statistical analysis protocol is being prepared for submission before the end of patient's enrolment. Results will be disseminated through conferences, peer-reviewed journals and to each participating unit.Trial registration numberNCT03920501; Pre-results.
Project description:ObjectiveTo estimate the effect of implementing a tele-ICU and a critical care residency training program for advanced practice providers on service utilization and total Medicare episode spending.Data sources/study settingsMedicare claims data for fee-for-service beneficiaries at 12 large, inpatient hospitals in the Atlanta Hospital Referral Region.Study designDifference-in-differences design where changes in spending and utilization for Medicare beneficiaries eligible for treatment in participating ICUs was compared to changes in a comparison group of clinically similar beneficiaries treated at similar hospitals' ICUs in the same hospital referral region.Extraction methodsUsing Medicare claims data from January 2010 through June 2015, we defined measures of Medicare episode spending during the ICU stay and subsequent 60 days after discharge, and utilization measures within 30 and 60 days after discharge.Principal findingsImplementation of the advanced practice provider residency program and tele-ICU was associated with a significant reduction in average Medicare spending per episode, primarily driven by reduced readmissions within 60 days and substitution of home health care for institutional postacute care.ConclusionsInnovations in workforce training and technology specific to the ICU may be useful in addressing the shortage of intensivist physicians, yielding benefits to patients and payers.
Project description:Little is known on how to best prioritize various tele-ICU specific tasks and workflows to maximize operational efficiency. We set out to: 1) develop an operational model that accurately reflects tele-ICU workflows at baseline, 2) identify workflow changes that optimize operational efficiency through discrete-event simulation and multi-class priority queuing modeling, and 3) implement the predicted favorable workflow changes and validate the simulation model through prospective correlation of actual-to-predicted change in performance measures linked to patient outcomes.SettingTele-ICU of a large healthcare system in New York State covering nine ICUs across the spectrum of adult critical care.PatientsSeven-thousand three-hundred eighty-seven adult critically ill patients admitted to a system ICU (1,155 patients pre-intervention in 2016Q1 and 6,232 patients post-intervention 2016Q3 to 2017Q2).InterventionsChange in tele-ICU workflow process structure and hierarchical process priority based on discrete-event simulation.Measurements and main resultsOur discrete-event simulation model accurately reflected the actual baseline average time to first video assessment by both the tele-ICU intensivist (simulated 132.8 ± 6.7 min vs 132 ± 12.2 min actual) and the tele-ICU nurse (simulated 128.4 ± 7.6 min vs 123 ± 9.8 min actual). For a simultaneous priority and process change, the model simulated a reduction in average TVFA to 51.3 ± 1.6 min (tele-ICU intensivist) and 50.7 ± 2.1 min (tele-ICU nurse), less than the added simulated reductions for each change alone, suggesting correlation of the changes to some degree. Subsequently implementing both changes simultaneously resulted in actual reductions in average time to first video assessment to values within the 95% CIs of the simulations (50 ± 5.5 min for tele-intensivists and 49 ± 3.9 min for tele-nurses).ConclusionsDiscrete-event simulation can accurately predict the effects of contemplated multidisciplinary tele-ICU workflow changes. The value of workflow process and task priority modeling is likely to increase with increasing operational complexities and interdependencies.
Project description:ObjectiveThe TELE-critical Care verSus usual Care On ICU PErformance (TELESCOPE) trial aims to assess whether a complex telemedicine intervention in intensive care units, which focuses on daily multidisciplinary rounds performed by remote intensivists, will reduce intensive care unit length of stay compared to usual care.MethodsThe TELESCOPE trial is a national, multicenter, controlled, open label, cluster randomized trial. The study tests the effectiveness of daily multidisciplinary rounds conducted by an intensivist through telemedicine in Brazilian intensive care units. The protocol was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee of the coordinating study center and by the local Research Ethics Committee from each of the 30 intensive care units, following Brazilian legislation. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials. gov (NCT03920501). The primary outcome is intensive care unit length of stay, which will be analyzed accounting for the baseline period and cluster structure of the data and adjusted by prespecified covariates. Secondary exploratory outcomes included intensive care unit performance classification, in-hospital mortality, incidence of nosocomial infections, ventilator-free days at 28 days, rate of patients receiving oral or enteral feeding, rate of patients under light sedation or alert and calm, and rate of patients under normoxemia.ConclusionAccording to the trial's best practice, we report our statistical analysis prior to locking the database and beginning analyses. We anticipate that this reporting practice will prevent analysis bias and improve the interpretation of the reported results.ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03920501.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed medical educators and learners to adapt to virtual learning (VL) in an expedited manner. The effect of VL for critical care education has not yet been evaluated. In a quantitative analysis of survey data and attendance records, we sought to determine the association of VL with conference attendance and work-life balance. Attending physicians, fellows, and advanced practice providers (APP) at a pediatric critical care department at a quaternary children's hospital participated in the study. Attendance records were obtained before and after the adaption of a VL platform. In addition, an electronic, anonymous survey to evaluate current satisfaction and the strengths and weaknesses of VL as well as its impact on work-life balance was administered. In total, 31 learners (17 attending physicians, 13 fellows, and 1 APP) completed the survey. A total of 83.9% (26/31) of participants were satisfied, and 77.4% (24/31) found VL to be similar or more engaging than non-VL. However, 6.5% (2/31) of learners reported difficulty in using the new platform, 87% (27/31) of participants supported VL as an effective learning tool, and 83.3% (25/30) reported a positive impact on work-life balance. Additionally, median monthly conference attendance increased significantly from 85 to 114 attendees per month ( p < 0.05). Our results suggest that a virtual model has advantages for overall attendance and work-life balance. We anticipate VL will continue to be an integral part of medical education. Future work evaluating the impact of VL on interdepartmental and interinstitutional collaborations is needed.
Project description:Remote coverage of ICUs is increasing, but staff acceptance of this new technology is incompletely characterized. We conducted a systematic review to summarize existing research on acceptance of tele-ICU coverage among ICU staff.We searched for published articles pertaining to critical care telemedicine systems (aka, tele-ICU) between January 1950 and March 2010 using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library and abstracts and presentations delivered at national conferences. Studies were included if they provided original qualitative or quantitative data on staff perceptions of tele-ICU coverage. Studies were imported into content analysis software and coded by tele-ICU configuration, methodology, participants, and findings (eg, positive and negative staff evaluations).Review of 3,086 citations yielded 23 eligible studies. Findings were grouped into four categories of staff evaluation: overall acceptance level of tele-ICU coverage (measured in 70% of studies), impact on patient care (measured in 96%), impact on staff (measured in 100%), and organizational impact (measured in 48%). Overall acceptance was high, despite initial ambivalence. Favorable impact on patient care was perceived by > 82% of participants. Staff impact referenced enhanced collaboration, autonomy, and training, although scrutiny, malfunctions, and contradictory advice were cited as potential barriers. Staff perceived the organizational impact to vary. An important limitation of available studies was a lack of rigorous methodology and validated survey instruments in many studies.Initial reports suggest high levels of staff acceptance of tele-ICU coverage, but more rigorous methodologic study is required.
Project description:BackgroundOur study addresses the gaps in knowledge of the characterizations of operations by remote tele-critical care medicine (tele-CCM) service providers interacting with the bedside team. The duration of engagements, the evolution of the tele-CCM service over time, and the distress during interactions with the bedside team have not been characterized systematically. These characteristics are critical for planning the deployment of teleICU services and preventing burnout among remote teleICU providers.MethodsREDCap self-reported activity logs collected engagement duration, triggers (emergency button, tele-CCM software platform, autonomous algorithm, asymmetrical communication platform, phone), expediency, nature (proactive rounding, predetermined task, response to medical needs), communication modes, and acceptance. Seven hospitals with 16 ICUs were overseen between 9/2020 and 9/2021 by teams consisting of telemedicine medical doctors (eMD), telemedicine registered nurses (eRN), and telemedicine respiratory therapists (eRT).Results39,915 total engagements were registered. eMDs had a significantly higher percentage of emergent and urgent engagements (31.9%) vs. eRN (9.8%) or eRT (1.7%). The average tele-CCM intervention took 16.1 ± 10.39 min for eMD, 18.1 ± 16.23 for eRN, and 8.2 ± 4.98 min for eRT, significantly varied between engagement, and expediency, hospitals, and ICUs types. During the observation period, there was a shift in intervention triggers with an increase in autonomous algorithmic ARDS detection concomitant with predominant utilization of asynchronous communication, phone engagements, and the tele-CCM module of electronic medical records at the expense of the share of proactive rounding. eRT communicated more frequently with bedside staff (% MD = 37.8%; % RN = 36.8, % RT = 49.0%) but mostly with other eRTs. In contrast, the eMD communicated with all ICU stakeholders while the eRN communicated chiefly with other RN and house staff at the patient's bedside. The rate of distress reported by tele-CCM staff was 2% among all interactions, with the entity hospital being the dominant factor.ConclusionsDelivery of tele-CCM services has to be tailored to the specific beneficiary of tele-CCM services to optimize care delivery and minimize distress. In addition, the duration of the average intervention must be considered while creating an efficient workflow.
Project description:IntroductionThe management of neurologic emergencies is an important component of critical care fellowship training. Additional training in neurocritical care has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes, though exposure to these emergencies during training can be limited.MethodsThree simulation cases are presented as part of a comprehensive neurologic emergencies curriculum for critical care trainees. The cases represent neurologic catastrophes encountered in the intensive care unit consisting of symptomatic hyponatremia, severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and brain herniation syndrome. The case descriptions are complete with learning objectives, critical actions checklists, and debriefing material for facilitators, as well as all necessary personnel briefs and required equipment.ResultsThe scenarios were completed over the course of the 2016-2017 academic year by first-year critical care fellows. Following curriculum implementation, there was an improvement in self-perceived confidence of fellows in neurologic emergency management skills.DiscussionThe cases were felt to be realistic and beneficial and led to perceived improvement in management of neurologic emergencies and leadership during clinical crises.