ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2020
Rapid Implementation and Innovative Applications of a Virtual Intensive Care Unit During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of digital communication tools on patients, family members and health care professionals in adult ICUs: a mixed-methods systematic review.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Advancing Regional and Remote Health Care With Virtual Hospital Implementation: Rapid Review.JMIR human factors · 2025Pooled it
- Family-centred care of patients admitted to the intensive care unit in times of COVID-19: A systematic review.Intensive & critical care nursing · 2022Pooled it
- Scaling Wireless Continuous Vital Sign Monitoring Across an 8-Hospital Health System: Digital Health Implementation Report.JMIR medical informatics · 2026Article
- Past, present, and future of sustainable intensive care: narrative review and a large hospital system experience.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Review
- "We all see things through a different lens based on our life experiences": co-production of a web-based implementation toolkit with stakeholders across the health and social care system.Frontiers in health services · 2024Article
- Content, Mechanism, and Outcome of Effective Telehealth Solutions for Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- A Serendipitous Outcome of COVID-19: Modifications to ICU Management.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2023Review
- Nonface-to-Face Visitation to Restrict Patient Visits for Infection Control: Integrative Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2023Review
- Perceived Consequences of COVID-19 Restrictive Visitation Policy on Family Members at Rural Hospitals in Vhembe District: A Qualitative Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2023Article
- Family experiences and perceptions of intensive care unit care and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.Australian critical care : official journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses · 2023Article
- Strengthening the ICUs' human resource-related responses to Covid-19: A rapid review of the experience during the first year of public health emergency.The International journal of health planning and management · 2023Review
- Integrating a Virtual ICU with Cardiac and Cardiovascular ICUs: Managing the Needs of a Complex and High-Acuity Specialty ICU Cohort.Methodist DeBakey cardiovascular journal · 2023Review
- Evaluating methodological approaches to assess the severity of infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants: scoping review and applications on Belgian COVID-19 data.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Prevention of COVID-19 pandemic through technological innovation: ensuring global innovative capability, absorptive capacity, and adaptive healthcare competency.International journal of environmental science and technology : IJEST · 2022Article
- Article
- Harnessing New and Existing Virtual Platforms to Meet the Demand for Increased Inpatient Palliative Care Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A 5 Key Themes Literature Review of the Characteristics and Barriers of These Evolving Technologies.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2022Review
- Telemedicine Intensive Care Unit (Tele-ICU) Implementation During COVID-19: A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2022Article
- Treating COVID-19: Evolving approaches to evidence in a pandemic.Cell reports. Medicine · 2022Article
- Infection control in the intensive care unit: expert consensus statements for SARS-CoV-2 using a Delphi method.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid increase of space in highly infectious disease intensive care units (ICUs). At Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH), a virtual intensive care unit (vICU) was used amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
objectiveThe aim of this paper was to detail the novel adaptations and rapid expansion of the vICU that were applied to achieve patient-centric solutions while protecting staff and patients' families during the pandemic.
methodsThe planned vICU implementation was redirected to meet the emerging needs of conversion of COVID-19 ICUs, including alterations to staged rollout timing, virtual and in-person staffing, and scope of application. With the majority of the hospital critical care physician workforce redirected to rapidly expanded COVID-19 ICUs, the non-COVID-19 ICUs were managed by cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists, neurosurgeons, and acute care surgeons. HMH expanded the vICU program to fill the newly depleted critical care expertise in the non-COVID-19 units to provide urgent, emergent, and code blue support to all ICUs.
resultsVirtual family visitation via the Consultant Bridge application, palliative care delivery, and specialist consultation for patients with COVID-19 exemplify the successful adaptation of the vICU implementation. Patients with COVID-19, who were isolated and separated from their families to prevent the spread of infection, were able to virtually see and hear their loved ones, which bolstered the mental and emotional status of those patients. Many families expressed gratitude for the ability to see and speak with their loved ones. The vICU also protected medical staff and specialists assigned to COVID-19 units, reducing exposure and conserving personal protective equipment.
conclusionsTelecritical care has been established as an advantageous mechanism for the delivery of critical care expertise during the expedited rollout of the vICU at Houston Methodist Hospital. Overall responses from patients, families, and physicians are in favor of continued vICU care; however, further research is required to examine the impact of innovative applications of telecritical care in the treatment of critically ill patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.