title: The research agenda in ICU telemedicine: a statement from the Critical Care Societies Collaborative.
abstract: ICU telemedicine uses audiovisual conferencing technology to provide critical care from a remote location. Research is needed to best define the optimal use of ICU telemedicine, but efforts are hindered by methodological challenges and the lack of an organized delivery approach. We convened an interdisciplinary working group to develop a research agenda in ICU telemedicine, addressing both methodological and knowledge gaps in the field. To best inform clinical decision-making and health policy, future research should be organized around a conceptual framework that enables consistent descriptions of both the study setting and the telemedicine intervention. The framework should include standardized methods for assessing the preimplementation ICU environment and describing the telemedicine program. This framework will facilitate comparisons across studies and improve generalizability by permitting context-specific interpretation. Research based on this framework should consider the multidisciplinary nature of ICU care and describe the specific program goals. Key topic areas to be addressed include the effect of ICU telemedicine on the structure, process, and outcome of critical care delivery. Ideally, future research should attempt to address causation instead of simply associations and elucidate the mechanism of action in order to determine exactly how ICU telemedicine achieves its effects. ICU telemedicine has significant potential to improve critical care delivery, but high-quality research is needed to best inform its use. We propose an agenda to advance the science of ICU telemedicine and generate research with the greatest potential to improve patient care.
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Electronic address: kahnjm@upmc.edu.
authors: Jeremy M
authors: JM
authors: Kahn
authors: Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA.
authors: Nicholas S
authors: NS
authors: Hill
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
authors: Craig M
authors: CM
authors: Lilly
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors: Derek C
authors: DC
authors: Angus
authors: Clarian Health, Indianapolis, IN.
authors: Judith
authors: J
authors: Jacobi
authors: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors: Gordon D
authors: GD
authors: Rubenfeld
authors: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: Jeffrey M
authors: JM
authors: Rothschild
authors: Department of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors: Anne E
authors: AE
authors: Sales
authors: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors: Damon C
authors: DC
authors: Scales
authors: Pulmonary Associates of Richmond, Richmond, VA.
authors: James A L
authors: JAL
authors: Mathers
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000592:standards*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States