Objectives: A key measure to mitigate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been social distancing. Incorporating video-conferencing applications in the patient handover process between healthcare workers can enhance social distancing while maintaining handover elements. This study describes pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) physicians' experience of using an online video-conferencing application for handover during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: qualitative content analysis Setting: PICU at a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Subjects: PICU Physicians Interventions: Due to the pandemic, the hospital's PICU used Zoom as a remote conferencing application, instead of a face-to-face handover. Following institutional review board approval, data were collected over two weeks (July 1, 2020 to July 14, 2020). Measurements: Demographic data and narrative descriptions of the perceived efficacy of remote handover were collected using open-ended questions through a created online link. The analysis process included open coding, creating categories, and abstraction. Main Results: All 37 PICU physicians who participated in the handover completed the survey. The participants comprised six attendings, nine specialists, and 22 residents. They had variable previous teleconferencing experiences. Most physicians (78.4%) were comfortable conducting a remote endorsement. Most found that Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation handover elements were properly achieved through this remote handover process. The perceived advantages of online handover included fewer interruptions, time efficiency, and facilitation of social distancing. The perceived disadvantages were the paucity of nonverbal communication and teaching during virtual meetings. Conclusions: Video-conferencing applications used for online handovers could supplement traditional face-to-face intensive care unit patient endorsement during outbreaks of infectious diseases. The use of video streaming and more emphasis on teaching should be encouraged to optimize the users' experience.

Objectives: With the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the emphasis on social distancing to decrease the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers (HCWs), our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) piloted the integration of Zoom meetings into clinical rounds. We aimed to explore the feasibility of these hybrid virtual and physical clinical rounds for PICU patients.Design: Mixed quantitative and qualitative deductive thematic content analysis of narrative responses.Setting: PICU, single tertiary-care academic center.Participants: Multidisciplinary PICU HCWs.Interventions: Integration of Zoom meeting into clinical daily PICU rounds.Measurements: For the quantitative part, we gathered the details of daily PICU hybrid rounds in terms of times, number of HCWs, and type of files shared through Zoom. For the qualitative part, open-ended questions were used.Main Results: The physical round took statistically significantly less time (34.68 ± 14.842 min) as compared with the Zoom round (72.45 ± 22.59 min), p < 0.001. The most shared component in the virtual round was chest X-rays (93.5%). Thirty-one HCWs participated in focus group discussions and were included in the analysis. Some of the HCWs' perceived advantages of the hybrid rounds were enabling multidisciplinary discussions, fewer round interruptions, and practicality of virtual discussions. The perceived challenges were the difficulty of the bedside nurse attending the virtual round, decreased teaching opportunities for the trainees, and decreased interactions among the team members, especially if video streaming was not utilized.Conclusions: Multidisciplinary hybrid virtual and physical clinical rounds in the PICU were perceived as feasible by HCWs. The virtual rounds decreased the physical contact between the HCWs, which could decrease the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 spread among the treating team. Still, several components of the hybrid round should be optimized to facilitate the virtual team-members' interactions and enhance the teaching experience.

Background: With the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the emphasis on social distancing to decrease the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers (HCWs), our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) piloted utilization of Zoom online into the clinical rounds to enhance communication among the treating team. We aimed to explore the feasibility of these hybrid virtual and physical clinical rounds for PICU patients from the HCWs' perspective. Methods: A mixed quantitative and qualitative deductive thematic content analysis of narrative responses from pediatric intensive care HCWs were analyzed, descriptive statistics were used Results: A total of 31 HCW were included in the analysis; the mean time of the virtual round was 72.45 minutes vs. 34.68 for physical rounds, the most shared component in the virtual round was CXR (93.5%). Some of the HCWs' perceived advantages of the hybrid rounds were enabling the multidisciplinary discussions, lesser round interruptions, and practicality of the virtual discussions. The perceived challenges were the difficulty of the bedside nurse to attend the virtual round, decreased teaching opportunities for the trainees, and decreased interactions among the team members, especially if the video streaming was not utilized. Conclusion: Hybrid virtual and physical clinical rounds in PICU were perceived as feasible by HCWs. The virtual rounds decreased the physical contact between the HCWs, which could decrease the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 spread among the treating team. Still, several components of the hybrid round could be optimized to facilitate the virtual team-members' interactions and enhance the teaching experience.