MassGeneral Program Brings Remote Doctor to the Bedside 24/7

The Connected Pediatric Critical Care program was launched at MassGeneral for Children in partnership with the Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare. Boston-based Partners HealthCare is an integrated health system founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Center is designed to help providers develop innovative technology that can be implemented in the care setting.

"Videoconferencing is not new, but the application of this technology—connecting at-home physicians with their patients and the hospital-based medical team—is a novel and important advance in critical care medicine," said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, director of the Center for Connected Health, in a statement.

The program creates a teaching opportunity as well, allowing residents to be more involved in a team approach that benefits the care environment, proponents say. It can also help parents feel more confident in the attending physician because it gives them more of an opportunity to interact with the doctor.

Kvedar and Noviski added that other intensive care units, for both adults and pediatric patients, could benefit from similar home-to-hospital telemedicine systems.

"If successful, this program can be incorporated into all of the ICUs and patient floors," Noviski says.