TeleICU/Acute Care Scope

Defining “Acute Care”

This Special Interest Group will draw on work of the World Health Organization to define “Acute Care as the health system components, or care delivery platforms, used to treat sudden, often unexpected, urgent or emergent episodes of injury and illness that can lead to death or disability without rapid intervention. Acute Care telemedicine encompasses a range of clinical health-care functions, including emergency medicine, trauma care, pre-hospital emergency care, acute care surgery, critical care, urgent care and short-term inpatient stabilization.

Defining “Telehealth”

The use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status – American Telemedicine Association

Telehealth encompasses a broad variety of technologies and tactics to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services. Telehealth is not a specific service, but a collection of means to enhance care and education delivery.

Telehealth encompasses four distinct domains of applications which are often seen in the TeleICU and/or acute care environment. Synchronous, asynchronous, remote patient monitoring, and mobile health (mHealth):

• Live video (synchronous): Live, two-way interaction between a person (patient, caregiver, or provider) and a provider using audiovisual telecommunications technology. This type of service is also referred to as “real-time” and may serve as a substitute for an in-person encounter when it is not available. Live video can be used for both consultative and diagnostic and treatment services.
• Store-and-forward (asynchronous): Transmission of recorded health history (for example, pre-recorded videos and digital images such as x-rays and photos) through a secure electronic communications system to a practitioner, usually a specialist, who uses the information to evaluate the case or render a service outside of a real-time or live interaction. As compared to a real-time visit, this service provides access to data after it has been collected, and involve communication tools
• Remote patient monitoring (RPM): Personal health and medical data collection from an individual in one location via electronic communication technologies, which is transmitted to a provider (sometimes via a data processing service) in a different location for use in care and related support. This type of service allows a provider to continue to track healthcare data for a patient once released to home or a care facility, reducing readmission rates.
• Mobile health (mHealth): Health care and public health practice and education supported by mobile communication devices such as cell phones, tablet computers, and PDAs. Applications can range from targeted text messages that promote healthy behavior to wide-scale alerts about disease outbreaks, to name a few examples.

TeleICU/ Acute Care SIG Committee

Membership : Please refer to the ATA operations manual 

Leadership

There will be two defined leadership roles for the group:

• Chairperson: Elected by a vote of the group members at the meeting immediately prior to the ATA annual meeting, the chairperson has the responsibility of leading the SIG, running its meetings, and participating in the ATA Leadership process. The term is one year and can be renewed once with the vote of the group. The Chairperson is typically but not necessarily the person who has served most recently as Chair Elect.
• Chair-Elect: Elected from the SIG membership at the meeting prior to the ATA annual meeting, the Chair Elect is chosen to assist the Chairperson, with an expectation of serving ATA by succeeding that role. The term is one year

The SIG may choose to also define a steering committee of experienced SIG participants to guide SIG activities. If the Chairperson or the SIG membership elect to form a steering committee, it will be an ad-hoc committee developed for the duration of the period prior to the next ATA annual meeting, with members participating on a volunteer basis.

Role of Committee members

It is intended that the Committee leverages the experiences, expertise, and insight of key individuals to advance the TeleICU and Acute Care’s Telehealth scope. .Committee members provide support and guidance for advancing the scope of TeleICU/Acute Care programs.

Thus, individually, Committee members should:

• Understand the strategic implications and outcomes of initiatives being pursued through TeleICU/Acute Care outputs;
• Appreciate the significance of the TeleICU/Acute Care projects for some or all major stakeholders and represent their interests;
• Be genuinely interested in TeleICU/Acute Care Telehealth initiatives and be an advocate for broad support for the outcomes being pursued within the TeleICU/ Acute Care industry.
• Each member contributes to reporting key findings/updates within the TeleICU/Acute Care Telehealth scope
  • State legislation advancement
  • Quality
  • Best practice
  • Development of subcommittees to address cost, quality and legislation
• In practice, this means they:
  • Liaison with other SIG committees
  • Help balance conflicting priorities and resources;
  • Communicate TeleICU/ Acute Care opportunities needed nationally.
  • Consider ideas and issues raised
  • Check adherence of TeleICU/ Acute Care activities to standards of best practice nationally.
  • Foster positive communication outside of the committee regarding TeleICU / Acute Care programs and outcomes
  • Provide synergies to accomplish goals;

Committee Meetings

Meeting Schedule and Process

The ATA TeleICU/Acute Care SIG meets regularly via teleconference on the 3rd Friday of the month 1pm to 2pm ET. Meetings may be rescheduled at the discretion of the SIG Leadership and with advance communication to the SIG membership. Additional meetings will typically be scheduled as part of ATA national conferences. Ad hoc meetings will be scheduled on request.

The ATA TeleICU/Acute Care SIG Chairperson chairs the Committee and facilitates the Committee Meeting. The Committee will follow modified Roberts Rules of Order in the conduct of meetings, motions, discussion and voting.