The role of tele-education in conveying COVID-19 patient's death to family members

Abstract

Introduction: Deaths due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Indonesia continue to increase each day. Limiting patient contact with family and health workers directly in the inpatient room can raise suspicion and complaints from the patient's family being treated. The risk of medical disputes can also arise due to the limited fulfillment of obtaining information from the patient or family. This study aims to highlight the role of hospital-assisted Tele-education in conveying information to family members regarding the death of their loved ones.Methods: This study is a descriptive quantitative study by taking secondary data from medical records and quality committee data in hospitals to compare patient complaints that arise before and after hospital tele-education policy in COVID-19 cases at Prof.dr.R.D Kandou hospital. Results: Tele-education implementation appears to increase. From 14.43% in the first month of implementation to 80.46%, after the policy was set at the end of the 6th month. The number of complaints related to patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 before the use of virtual education in the patient's family was 18.26%, and in cases where patients died, family complaints before the use of virtual education had a mean of 39.1%. After implementing the policy, the complaint rate for patients being treated fell to an average of 5.06%, and in deceased cases, the complaint rate decreased to an average of 8.95%. Conclusion: The number of cases that using virtual education increased each month, and the peak was in December 2020; meanwhile the lowest percentage was in July 2020. The use of virtual media in delivering family information and education reduces the barriers that are formed due to hospitalization in isolation rooms.