Using telemedicine in the care of newborn infants after discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit reduced the need of hospital visits

Abstract

AimThis study examined the use of telemedicine as a means to follow up infants discharged from a Swedish neonatal intensive care unit to home health care.MethodsFamilies were randomised to either a control group receiving standard home health care (n = 42 families) or a telemedicine group receiving home health care with telemedicine support (n = 47 families) after discharge from the hospital. Both groups had follow‐up hospital appointments with the neonatal nurse. In the telemedicine group, appointments were supplemented by the use of a specially designed web page and video calls.ResultsThe use of the web page and video calls decreased the number of emergency visits to the hospital (p = 0.047). In the telemedicine group, 26% of the families felt they had more scheduled appointments than necessary, whereas only 6% of the families in the control group thought so (p = 0.037). The parents were highly satisfied with the use of telemedicine. Although the nurses were favourable to using telemedicine, the rigid organisation of the home healthcare programme and the nurses’ schedules and work routines prevented its optimal use.ConclusionThe use of telemedicine decreased the need of hospital visits. Organisational adaptations would be necessary to make the best use of telemedicine.

Health Care Professionals' Perspectives on Teleneonatology Through the Lens of Normalization Process Theory

“…Moreover, health professionals expressed appreciation of the technology, while a few mentioned the discomfort they or other providers may experience should their competence be questioned by the remote neonatology consultant. This finding, that is, that health professionals have positive perceptions of telemedicine, is supported in existing literature, however, its uptake in routine clinical use has been less than expected due to factors embedded in an organization's context and routines of health care professionals. Factors including perceived usefulness, perceived ease‐of‐use, clinical practice guidelines and performance standards, feelings of self‐sufficiency, and the belief that that the use of the technology will increase burden contribute to suboptimal uptake .…”

Systematic review of tube-fed preterm infants in the home supported within a family-centered program

“…The 8 scrutinized papers included 2 qualitative, 5 quantitative, and 1 mixed method study (Ahnfeldt et al, 2015;Brodsgaard et al, 2015;Dellenmark-Blom & Wigert, 2014;Garne et al, 2016;Gund et al, 2013;Lundberg et al, 2016;Meerlo-Habing et al, 2009;Robinson et al, 2016). A brief description, study characteristics and quality of evidence grading of the individual studies are presented in Table 2.…”

“…Seven of the included studies were from Scandinavian countries, except Meerlo-Habing et al (2009) which was based in the Netherlands. A variety of critical appraisal tools were used to appropriately assess the study according to its methodology and 6 studies were graded as good (Brodsgaard et al, 2015;Dellenmark-Blom & Wigert, 2014;Garne et al, 2016;Lundberg et al, 2016;Meerlo-Habing et al, 2009;Robinson et al, 2016). Ahnfeldt et al, (2015) was graded as fair as groups were mismatched and there were no adjustments made for confounders such as parental smoking and education level.…”

Using Telemedicine Technologies in Radiology for Low-Density Area

“…В результате использования комплексной теленеонатальной программы сокращаются сроки стационарного лечения, улучшается эмоционально-психологический статус родителей, снижаются финансовые затра-ты. Телепатронаж -как форма пациент-центрированной неонатологии достоверно (p=0,047) снижает удельный вес экстренных ре-госпитализаций 437 .…”