Communication with patients on their clinical status is important in delivering care in the emergency department. During times of high volume or complex patients, there may be lapses in communicating with patients about their hospital course or plans of action. These miscommunications may be enhanced during the current COVID-19 pandemic as there is minimized in-person interaction with patients in order to conserve personal protective equipment and decrease the risk of disease transmission. This study utilizes a virtual white board to deliver updates to patients about the status of their emergency department stay.
The ultimate goal of this study is to understand the effect of delivering timely information
about a patient's emergency department course of their satisfaction surrounding the emergency
department stay. The experience of patients in the emergency department has been
significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic due to decreased in-person encounters, and the
use of PPE. Delivering information about their clinical course and expected hospital course
is more difficult now given the emphasis on less in-person interaction. In response, the
investigators have deployed in collaboration with e-ink, a virtual e-paper white board that
can be remotely edited to help display pertinent hospital course information to patients in
the emergency department. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial to
understand the effect of deploying these white boards on patient satisfaction in the
emergency department.
Device: e-ink screen
A virtual display screen developed by e-ink that displays patient status, basic demographics, care team information, pending tests and anticipated disposition
Behavioral: Treatment as usual
Treatment as usual in the emergency department with communication of testing results, imaging and disposition by the primary clinical emergency department team.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients in emergency department at Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Triaged to designated emergency department pods outfitted with virtual white board
- Expected emergency department stay of at least four hours
- Able to speak and read english
- Not primary psychiatric complaint
Exclusion Criteria:
- Medically ill or otherwise deemed unable to participate by the study PI and/or
treating clinical team.
- Patients admitted to an inpatient bed but boarding in the emergency department over 10
hours.
- Previously participated in the study.
- Has COVID-19 risk flag or confirmed COVID-19 in electronic health record
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Investigator: Peter R Chai, MD MMS
Contact: 617-732-5640
pchai@bwh.harvard.edu
Peter R Chai, MD
617-632-5640
pchai@bwh.harvard.edu
Guruprasad D Jambaulikar, MBBS MPH
gjambaulikar@bwh.harvard.edu
Peter R Chai, MD MMS, Principal Investigator
Brigham and Women's Hospital