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Although physician burnout was a known problem long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial COVID-19 wave and then the Omicron variant wave pushed physicians and ICU teams to their physical and psychological limits.

The dramatic strains that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on the medical system made the public aware of the day-to-day stresses that healthcare workers were experiencing and thereby opened new avenues for doctors to express themselves and to get emotional support. Despite this, many healthcare workers, including critical care nurses, have experienced burnout and are considering leaving or have already left their positions, thereby further depleting the ranks of an already understaffed profession.

Some in the industry are even calling this The Great Resignation. The adoption of eICU / TeleICU has provided much-needed support and relief for the bedside staff. and could potentially be a long-term solution for this severe burnout problem.

Over 5 million people are admitted to intensive care units in the United States annually, a number that continues to grow even as hospitals face a shortage of critical care staff. Fortunately, advances in technology are making it possible to provide high-quality care to ICU patients even when there are not enough doctors physically present.

The eICU is one of many branches of telemedicine that is changing the way medical services are delivered for the benefit of patients and healthcare providers alike.
What is an eICU?
The terms eICU (electronic intensive care unit), tele ICU, remoteICU, and virtual ICU are all used interchangeably to refer to the same thing – a platform in which technology is used for remote care delivery to patients in the ICU.

Knowledge is power, especially in the medical field. This remark is even more accurate when it involves the intensive care unit, which is “intense.” ICU staff often must make critical care decisions in minutes or seconds. The uncertainty of these decisions and the tension this engenders, coupled with stresses of ICU bed and staff shortages in the face of increased demand, especially during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, highlight the importance of access to data for decision support. 

As health care has become increasingly complex, the industry has recognized the need for a knowledge system that can support critical healthcare decision-making.

What is needed is the use of experience-based data gathered regarding patients’ diseases and treatments in order to determine the diagnosis, prognosis, and best treatment for future patients. Such clinical data could also offer new perspectives on complex problems.

Hospitals across the nation have been creating Virtual ICUs to enhance patient outcomes in the intensive care unit. Since COVID-19, eICUs have proliferated – in one form or another — as healthcare facilities have focused on optimizing their resources.

Virtual ICUs employ registered nurses (RNs) with bedside critical care experience who use telemedicine technology as eICU RNs to remotely monitor patients and provide advice to their bedside nursing colleagues, and alert intensivists to something that has caught their attention during reviews. This additional ICU support has proven to be helpful, particularly given the shortages of critical care providers (especially intensivists and critical care RNs).

The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the problem of staffing shortages, stressing already frustrated RNs to or beyond their breaking points. Nursing has always been a tough job. However, a 2021 study by Incredible Health found that more than a third (34%) of nurses surveyed said that they are very likely to quit their job by the end of 2022. Of these, 44% named a high-stress environment and burnout as the reasons. Also, pay and benefits were the second leading motivating factors (27%). In addition, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) reports that 66% of critical-care and acute nurses have contemplated quitting the profession altogether.

Having said that, what is it like to work as an eICU RN? What are the duties, and how does the Virtual ICU enhance patient outcomes?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government waived many cross-state physician restrictions to increase the availability of remote clinical care. The expanded implementation of eICU telemedicine proved invaluable during the pandemic, particularly for hospitals in outlying regions. However, the waivers are slated to expire as soon as the federal pandemic-era emergency order ends. Advocates of virtual care are seeking long-term policy changes to prevent this.

The development of technology for healthcare is a natural evolution in the digitized world. Telemedicine, delivering healthcare by remote technologies, is not a new concept, but COVID-19 pushed it — and particularly eICU — into the forefront as the safest feasible method for doctors and patients to interact. In addition, telehealth resolved issues with in-person appointments such as social distancing rules and transportation limitations. Overall, in a time of great need, telemedicine unequivocally demonstrated and proved not just to skeptics but to society at large how it augments healthcare access for isolated individuals in a variety of settings. Moreover, the success opened many eyes to the possibility of additional benefits. One such potential benefit is the use of remote language experts, medical translators and interpreters, bridge language and cultural gaps, thereby allowing equal access to care.

The Tele Intensive Care Units market is growing by leaps and bounds. According to the latest Market Forecast by Verified Market Research, the TeleICU, or eICU, market size was USD 1.94 Billion in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 6.25 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 14.28% from 2019 to 2026.

The Report discusses the growth of worldwide and regional markets, shedding light on recent developments and key growth strategies. Also included is a special COVID-19 impact analysis. What is the market’s impetus and what are the trends to look out for?

Telemedicine has undergone significant advancement and improvement since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, telemedicine has helped overcome many hurdles facing the healthcare industry. For instance, telehealth has enabled patients easy access to health care without patient and/or provider infection risk. In hospitals, eICU has enabled staff to minimize risky physical contact with patients and has given hospitals increased access to intensive care specialists despite their being in short supply. The challenges and needs of the COVID-19 pandemic drove a quick shift from reliance on traditional healthcare methods to the implementation of TeleICU and other telehealth modalities. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis have been applied to the growing war-related, healthcare crisis in Ukraine.

The Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI), a non-profit which focuses on patient safety, has issued a report outlining the top ten concerns that could jeopardize patient safety. The report is unique in that the focus is not on typical safety issues such as hospital-acquired infections or shortages of lifesaving machines like ventilators. Instead, the report deals with risks which are related to healthcare providers themselves. Here we explore these risks and how telehealth, particularly eICU, can alleviate them.

TeleICU is an increasingly vital cog in facilitating patient access to medical expertise. As the SARS-COV2 virus crisis (COVID-19) has exacerbated hospital staffing shortages, telemedicine has stepped in to create what can be described as ‘virtual hospitals.’

In the second installment of this series, we explore challenges in identifying hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and the importance of teleICU or e-ICU.

How does one know it’s an HAI? Learn more about HAI >>>

Many people avoid hospitals for fear “catching something” they didn’t have beforehand. This fear may sound like a misconception or based in folklore or legend; however, there is actually some medical basis to it: hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). The alarming statistics of HAIs are another reason for hospitals to consider implementing TeleICU solutions. 

eICU and EHR. Now, more than ever, researchers are pointing out the potential value of incorporating EHR technology into eICU (electronic intensive care unit) systems as the industry evolves.

The thought or topic of a hospital ICUs (Intensive Care Units) raises feelings of fear and vulnerability in many. However, knowledge is power, and understanding more about ICUs, especially the benefits of TeleICU solutions, can put you at ease should you or your loved ones ever need to visit an ICU.

Medical technology has come a long way since the stethoscope, the MRI, and the disposable catheter. Today, many factors including Covid-19, that forced healthcare into the future, including a growing geriatric population

Reduced patient mortality rate associated with Tele-ICU – What the research shows…

Electronic Intensive Care Unit (eICU) – remote monitoring systems for hospital ICUs – Research into eICU remote monitoring systems shows an abrupt…

The shortage of board-certified intensivists impacts patients, intensivists, and hospitals. So let’s examine the benefits of TeleICU for intensivists and hospitals in critical care medicine.

The disparity between ICUs with and without board-certified intensivists in the US is widening. TeleICU implementation continues to grow in the US, with 18% of adult ICU beds already covered by TeleICU

TeleICU implementation is a growing trend in the health care industry, among hospital systems, and among individual hospitals.

The importance of tele-stroke and Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA)

Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) is a potential lifesaving medication which can be administered to certain stroke patients.

Today, rules and regulations are in place in most industries in an effort to ensure that best practices and safety standards are followed.

Over the last decade, there has been significant growth in TeleICU.

What role did tele-ICU play in meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Tele-hospitalists can contribute by filling gaps, taking over burdensome administrative tasks, and improving patient outcomes and patients’ experiences.