Implementing a COVID-19 Virtual Observation Unit in Emergency Medicine: Frontline Clinician and Staff Experiences

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed hospitals to deliver care outside of their four walls. To successfully scale virtual care delivery, it is important to understand how its implementation affects frontline workers, including their teamwork and patient-provider interactions. We conducted in-depth interview...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical care research and review 2023-02, Vol.80 (1), p.79-91
Main Authors: Jung, Olivia S., Graetz, Ilana, Dorner, Stephen C., Hayden, Emily M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical Observation Units
Coordinators
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Service, Hospital
Emergency services
Empirical Research
Health care
Hospitals
Humans
Integrated care
Pandemics
Paramedics
Patient participation
Patients
Professional attitudes
Reconfiguration
Remote monitoring
Staff participation
Telemedicine
Virtual reality
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic pushed hospitals to deliver care outside of their four walls. To successfully scale virtual care delivery, it is important to understand how its implementation affects frontline workers, including their teamwork and patient-provider interactions. We conducted in-depth interviews of 17 clinicians and staff involved with the COVID-19 Virtual Observation Unit (CVOU) in the emergency department (ED) of an academic hospital. The program leveraged remote patient monitoring and mobile integrated health care. In the CVOU (vs. the ED), participants observed increases in interactions among clinicians and staff, patient participation in care delivery, attention to nonmedical factors, and involvement of coordinators and paramedics in patient care. These changes were associated with unintended, positive consequences for staff, namely, feeling heard, experience of meaningfulness, and positive attitudes toward virtual care. This study advances research on reconfiguration of roles following implementation of new practices using digital tools, virtual work interactions, and at-home care delivery.
ISSN:1077-5587
1552-6801
DOI:10.1177/10775587221108750