Virtual visiting in the intensive care unit: implementation, utilisation and provider acceptance in an Australian metropolitan health service
Sing Chee Tan
A B * and Anthony Cross A C
A Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Northern Health, 185 Cooper Street, Epping, Vic. 3076, Australia.
B Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3000, Australia.
C Centre for Integrated Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3000, Australia.
Australian Health Review 46(3) 284-288 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22032
Submitted: 31 January 2022 Accepted: 21 February 2022 Published: 12 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.
Abstract
We describe the design and implementation of an intensive care unit (ICU) virtual visiting program in a metropolitan ICU in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to examine patterns of use, and describe clinician acceptance of this technology.
This was a mixed-methods study, comprising a retrospective analysis of virtual visits from 18 August to 30 September 2020. Patterns of utilisation included duration and time of visits, as well as bandwidth used. A post-implementation survey on a Virtual Visiting program based on the technology acceptance model was sent to clinicians; results were reported on separate scales for usefulness and usability. Publicly available telecommunication solutions were unsuitable for virtual visiting, whereas dedicated telehealth solutions needed modification to improve accessibility by patients and families. During the study period, 69 virtual visits were made with a median length of 10 min (range 1–80 min). A total of 72.5% of calls were made during office hours (09:00–17:00 h), with the latest occurring at approximately 21:30 h. Virtual visits required a mean bandwidth of 1224 kbps (download) and 940 kbps (upload), and consumed 0.7 GB (range 0.0–7.0 GB) and 0.5 GB (range 0.0–6.7 GB) of download and upload data. Clinicians reported a mean score of 2 (range 1–4) for perceived usefulness and 3 (range 1–6) for the perceived ease of use.
Virtual visiting is a feasible alternative in the ICU, with good acceptance by clinicians. Challenges include safety and usability of videoconferencing platforms, as well as bandwidth requirements. Future health service design should consider support for dedicated virtual visiting solutions, as well as ensuring adequate bandwidth capabilities for this service. Further studies are needed to assess patient and family acceptability of this technology.
Keywords: communication, COVID‐19, critical care, digital health, family, intensive care, telehealth, videoconferencing, virtual visiting.
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