JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Virtual care is increasingly incorporated within routine healthcare settings to improve patient experience and access to care. A patient’s experience encompasses all the interactions an individual has with the healthcare system. This includes a greater emphasis on actively involving carers in the decisions and activities surrounding a patient’s healthcare.

Objective:

The objective is to investigate the variety of healthcare delivery challenges encountered in a virtual hospital and explore potential ways to improve the patient experience.

Methods:

This protocol outlines a mixed-methods study exploring the patient experience of a virtual hospital in Australia, RPA Virtual Hospital (rpavirtual). We will use an exploratory mixed-methods approach comprising of secondary data analysis, observations, interviews, and co-design focus groups. Participants will include patients, their carers and healthcare workers who are involved in the Acute Respiratory virtual hospital model of care. Together, the data will be triangulated to explore views and experiences of using this model of care, as well as co-designing recommendations for further improvement.

Results:

Findings from this study will identify current barriers and facilitators to implementing virtual care such as, work-as-done versus work-as-imagined, equity of care, role of carers, and patient safety during virtual care.