Improving ICU Care with Telemedicine
Author Information
Author(s): Damon C. Scales, Kate Dainty, Brigette Hales, Ruxandra Pinto, Robert A. Fowler, Neill K. J. Adhikari, Merrick Zwarenstein
Primary Institution: University of Toronto
Hypothesis
A multifaceted knowledge translation approach among ICUs in a telemedicine network will increase the adoption of six evidence-based ICU clinical best practices that have been shown in high quality studies to improve patient care.
Conclusion
The study aims to evaluate whether a collaborative videoconferencing network can improve the care provided to critically ill patients across geographically separate ICUs.
Supporting Evidence
- The study will involve 15 hospitals over two years, expecting approximately 12,000 patients to be enrolled per study arm.
- Each ICU will receive active strategies to improve the use of a care practice while simultaneously functioning as a control for ICUs receiving an alternate care practice.
- The study design allows for longitudinal before-after comparisons for units that are originally assigned to receive the control phase for a given best practice.
Takeaway
This study is trying to see if using video calls can help hospitals do a better job of taking care of very sick patients by following important medical practices.
Methodology
A pragmatic cluster randomized active control trial in 15 community ICUs and one academic ICU in Ontario, Canada, using a multifaceted videoconferenced educational and problem-solving forum.
Limitations
Data from the academic ICU will not be included in primary analyses, which may limit the generalizability of findings.
Participant Demographics
The study involves 15 Ontario community hospitals with various geographic locations and ICU sizes, estimating an average of 824 patients admitted annually to each ICU.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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