Connected Pediatric Critical Care

Program Objectives:
Connected Pediatric Critical Care is a program that enables on-call attending physicians in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PICU) at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (MGHfC) to examine patients and communicate directly with the PICU staff, when the on-call attending physicians are at home during the overnight or weekends.

Program Overview:
Young patients being treated in the PICU at MGHfC often require ongoing and around-the-clock assessment and care management, coordinated among a team of residents, fellows, nurses, respiratory therapists and attending physicians. Overnight and weekends, on-call attending physicians were traditionally contacted via telephone by the covering fellow or resident in the PICU. The attending physician would provide guidance, via telephone, without input from the rest of the team and without personally seeing the patient. The attending would then decide if it was necessary to return to the hospital.

Six PICU physicians from MGHfC now have videoconferencing units in their homes. When they are needed for a consult in the middle of the night or on weekends, they videoconference in from home, to a portable telemedicine station positioned at the patient’s bedside. The attending physician can then see the patient, talk with clinicians on-site, personally evaluate the child’s condition and make treatment decisions. Special cameras and scopes can also be attached to the hospital-based unit to allow for closer evaluation of the patient.

There have been several added benefits of this program. Attending physicians now have the ability to initiate communication with the hospital team, giving the attending doctor a better perspective on the patient’s condition. It also provides a more robust teaching opportunity, allowing residents to be more involved in the team approach essential in an intensive care environment. Importantly, parents may feel more confident in their child’s care and more connected to the treating physician.