Perceived benefit of a telemedicine consultative service in a highly staffed intensive care unit

Document Type

Article

Department

Anaesthesia

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a nocturnal telemedicine service improves culture, staff satisfaction, and perceptions of quality of care in a highly staffed university critical care system.
Methods: We conducted an experiment to determine the effect of telemedicine on nursing-staff satisfaction and perceptions of the quality of care in an intensive care unit (ICU). We surveyed ICU nurses using a modified version of a previously validated tool before deployment and after a 2-month experimental program of tele-ICU. Nurses in another, similar ICU within the same hospital academic medical center served as concurrent controls for the survey responses.
Results: Survey responses were measured using a 5-point Likert scale, and results were analyzed using paired t testing. Survey responses of the nurses in the intervention ICU (n = 27) improved significantly after implementation of the tele-ICU program in the relations and communication subscale (2.99 ± 1.13 pre vs 3.27 ± 1.27 post, P < .01), the psychological working conditions and burnout subscale (3.10 ± 1.10 pre vs 3.23 ± 1.11 post, P < .02), and the education subscale (3.52 ± 0.84 pre vs 3.76 ± 0.78 post, P < .03). In contrast, responses in the control ICU (n = 11) declined in the patient care and perceived effectiveness (3.94 ± 0.80 pre vs 3.48 ± 0.86 post, P < .01) and the education (3.95 ± 0.39 pre vs 3.50 ± 0.80 post, P < .05) subscales.
Conclusion: Telemedicine has the potential to improve staff satisfaction and communication in highly staffed ICUs.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Journal of Critical Care

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