An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19
Background:UC San Diego Health System (UCSDHS) is an academic medical center and integrated care network in the US-Mexico border area of California contiguous to the Mexican Northern Baja region. The COVID-19 pandemic deeply influenced UCSDHS activities as new public health challenges increasingly r...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Annals of Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3108 |
| _version_ | 1828903309269794816 |
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| author | Venktesh R. Ramnath Linda Hill Jim Schultz Jess Mandel Andres Smith Tim Morris Stacy Holberg Lucy E. Horton Atul Malhotra Lawrence S. Friedman |
| author_facet | Venktesh R. Ramnath Linda Hill Jim Schultz Jess Mandel Andres Smith Tim Morris Stacy Holberg Lucy E. Horton Atul Malhotra Lawrence S. Friedman |
| author_sort | Venktesh R. Ramnath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:UC San Diego Health System (UCSDHS) is an academic medical center and integrated care network in the US-Mexico border area of California contiguous to the Mexican Northern Baja region. The COVID-19 pandemic deeply influenced UCSDHS activities as new public health challenges increasingly related to high population density, cross-border traffic, economic disparities, and interconnectedness between cross-border communities, which accelerated development of clinical collaborations between UCSDHS and several border community hospitals – one in the US, two in Mexico – as high volumes of severely ill patients overwhelmed hospitals. Objective:We describe the development, implementation, feasibility, and acceptance of a novel critical care support program in three community hospitals along the US-Mexico border. Methods:We created and instituted a hybrid critical care program involving: 1) in-person activities to perform needs assessments of equipment and supplies and hands-on training and education, and 2) creation of a telemedicine-based (Tele-ICU) service for direct patient management and/or consultative, education-based experiences. We collected performance metrics surrounding adherence to evidence-based practices and staff perceptions of critical care delivery. Findings:In-person intervention phase identified and filled gaps in equipment and supplies, and Tele-ICU program promoted adherence to evidence-based practices and improved staff confidence in caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients at each hospital. Conclusion:A collaborative, hybrid critical care program across academic and community centers is feasible and effective to address cross-cultural public health emergencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:31:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d21fa07589c24e01b5535d696929e649 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-9996 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:31:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-d21fa07589c24e01b5535d696929e6492022-12-21T23:38:29ZengUbiquity PressAnnals of Global Health2214-99962021-01-0187110.5334/aogh.31082575An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19Venktesh R. Ramnath0Linda Hill1Jim Schultz2Jess Mandel3Andres Smith4Tim Morris5Stacy Holberg6Lucy E. Horton7Atul Malhotra8Lawrence S. Friedman9Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA; Neighborhood Healthcare, San DiegoDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego, CADivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADirector, International Program Operations, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADivision of Infectious Diseases, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CADepartment of Internal Medicine, UC San Diego Health, La Jolla, CABackground:UC San Diego Health System (UCSDHS) is an academic medical center and integrated care network in the US-Mexico border area of California contiguous to the Mexican Northern Baja region. The COVID-19 pandemic deeply influenced UCSDHS activities as new public health challenges increasingly related to high population density, cross-border traffic, economic disparities, and interconnectedness between cross-border communities, which accelerated development of clinical collaborations between UCSDHS and several border community hospitals – one in the US, two in Mexico – as high volumes of severely ill patients overwhelmed hospitals. Objective:We describe the development, implementation, feasibility, and acceptance of a novel critical care support program in three community hospitals along the US-Mexico border. Methods:We created and instituted a hybrid critical care program involving: 1) in-person activities to perform needs assessments of equipment and supplies and hands-on training and education, and 2) creation of a telemedicine-based (Tele-ICU) service for direct patient management and/or consultative, education-based experiences. We collected performance metrics surrounding adherence to evidence-based practices and staff perceptions of critical care delivery. Findings:In-person intervention phase identified and filled gaps in equipment and supplies, and Tele-ICU program promoted adherence to evidence-based practices and improved staff confidence in caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients at each hospital. Conclusion:A collaborative, hybrid critical care program across academic and community centers is feasible and effective to address cross-cultural public health emergencies.https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3108 |
| spellingShingle | Venktesh R. Ramnath Linda Hill Jim Schultz Jess Mandel Andres Smith Tim Morris Stacy Holberg Lucy E. Horton Atul Malhotra Lawrence S. Friedman An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 Annals of Global Health |
| title | An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 |
| title_full | An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 |
| title_short | An In-Person and Telemedicine “Hybrid” System to Improve Cross-Border Critical Care in COVID-19 |
| title_sort | in person and telemedicine hybrid system to improve cross border critical care in covid 19 |
| url | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3108 |
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