Inpatient Telemedicine and New Models of Care during COVID-19: Hospital Design Strategies to Enhance Patient and Staff Safety

Nirit Putievsky Pilosof, Michael Barrett, Eivor Oborn, Galia Barkai, Itai M. Pessach and Eyal Zimlichman
Additional contact information
Nirit Putievsky Pilosof: Cambridge Digital Innovation—CJBS & Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB1 2EW, UK
Michael Barrett: Centre for Digital Built Britain, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FA, UK
Eivor Oborn: Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Galia Barkai: Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel
Itai M. Pessach: Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel
Eyal Zimlichman: Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the development of new hospital design strategies and models of care. To enhance staff safety while preserving patient safety and quality of care, hospitals have created a new model of remote inpatient care using telemedicine technologies. The design of the COVID-19 units divided the space into contaminated and clean zones and integrated a control room with audio-visual technologies to remotely supervise, communicate, and support the care being provided in the contaminated zone. The research is based on semi-structured interviews and observations of care processes that implemented a new model of inpatient telemedicine at Sheba Medical Center in Israel in different COVID-19 units, including an intensive care unit (ICU) and internal medicine unit (IMU). The study examines the impact of the diverse design layouts of the different units associated with the implementation of digital technologies for remote care on patient and staff safety. The results demonstrate the challenges and opportunities of integrating inpatient telemedicine for critical and intermediate care to enhance patient and staff safety. We contribute insights into the design of hospital units to support new models of remote care and suggest implications for Evidence-based Design (EBD), which will guide much needed future research.

Keywords: inpatient telemedicine; healthcare design; patient safety; staff safety; control room; model of care; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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