Provider experience and satisfaction with a novel ‘virtual team rounding’ program during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: International journal for quality in health care 2021-08, Vol.33 (3)
• Main Authors: Becker, Nora V, Mendu, Mallika L, Martin, Kate L, Hirner, Jesse P, Bakshi, Salina, Carlile, Narath
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1353-4505; 1464-3677
• DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzab111

Abstract Background New inpatient virtual care models have proliferated in response to the challenges presented by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; however, few of these programs have yet been evaluated for acceptability and feasibility. Objective Assess feasibility and provider experience with the Virtual Team Rounding Program (VTRP), a quality improvement project developed and rapidly scaled at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, in response to the surge of COVID-19 patients in the spring of 2020. Methods We surveyed 777 inpatient providers and 41 providers who served as ‘virtual rounders’ regarding their experience with the program. Inpatient providers were asked about their overall satisfaction with the program, whether the program saved them time, and if so, how much and their interest in working with a similar program in the future. Providers who had worked as virtual rounders were asked about their overall satisfaction with the program, the overall difficulty of the work and their interest in participating in a similar program in the future. Results We find that among both groups the program was well-received, with 72.5% of inpatient providers and 85.7% of virtual rounders reporting that they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their experience with the program. Among inpatient providers who worked with the program, two-thirds reported the program saved them time on a daily basis. Inpatient respondents who had worked with virtual rounders were more likely to say that they would be interested in working with the VTRP in the future compared with respondents who never worked with a virtual rounder (75.3 vs 52.5%, P