Developing a Newborn Resuscitation Telemedicine Program: A Comparison of Two Technologies.

BACKGROUND

Early work has demonstrated the feasibility and acceptance of newborn resuscitation telemedicine programs (NRTPs). The technology requirements for providing this type of emergency telemedicine service are unclear.

INTRODUCTION

We hypothesized that during NRTP consults, a wired telemedicine cart would provide a more reliable and higher-quality user experience than a consumer-grade wireless tablet.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective observational study, six spoke sites used consumer-grade wireless tablets during preintervention and wired coder/decoder (CODEC)-based telemedicine carts during postintervention. Both technologies used the same videoconferencing software. After the telemedicine consult, providers completed surveys assessing connection reliability, user satisfaction, and audio and video quality using a 1-5 Likert scale.

RESULTS

Preintervention, users completed 99 consults and 95 surveys. Postintervention, users completed 73 consults and 192 surveys. Successful connection on first attempt was significantly improved with the wired cart compared with the wireless tablet (82.7% vs. 69.5%, p = 0.01), and the percentage of consults complicated by an unplanned disconnection was reduced (6.4% vs. 14.7%, p = 0.02). User satisfaction and video and audio quality ratings were significantly higher for the wired cart.

DISCUSSION

The wired telemedicine cart increased connection reliability, which is important given the critical nature and long duration of NRTP consults. Audio-video quality was also improved, allowing for better visualization of the neonate and communication with the care team.

CONCLUSIONS

Consumer-grade wireless tablets did not meet the program's technical requirements. Wired telemedicine carts improved reliability, user satisfaction, and audio-video quality. Wired carts may not fully meet NRTP requirements because of cart size and limited mobility.