Parents of children staying in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital are provided with a bed and desk so they can stay by their child's side. But when they are unable to be there, telemedicine is used to keep them informed on the well-being of their son or daughter, according to an article in The Examiner.
In MGH's Children Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, there are mobile computer stations that parents can connect to via an iPad provided by the hospital. If a parent must work or is unable to be at the hospital at the time rounds are being conducted, a physician can connect with them using the tools, according to Phoebe Yager, M.D, the hospital's director for pediatric telemedicine.
The services are HIPAA complaint and have a very reliable connection, Yager adds.
The system also enables staff in the ICU to contact physicians when they are at home if an emergency arises, according to the article. The department also is looking into using the system in other areas such as oncology and hematology.
Another example of a hospital using such technology in the ICU is Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine. There, tablets are used in a "harms monitor" system that gives patients and families are the ability to track care issues and gain insight on care operations, FierceMobileHealthcare previously reported.
The tools also help give concerned parents of children in the ICU the information they need immediately. At Miami Children's Hospital parents like the idea of being engaged on the go, and because parents want to be extremely involved in their child's care, compliance with the apps is very high, according to CIO Edward Martinez.
Too learn more:
- read the interview