Patient and caregiver experiences with a telemedicine intensive care unit recovery clinic.

The sample was small and came from one academic medical center, so the findings may not apply to other settings. Participants were younger adults, with a mean age of 49, and most had no limitations in activities of daily living. Most participants were female, highly educated, and predominantly white, so the findings may not represent men or other groups. People who lacked internet access, a computer or mobile device, or technical skills were excluded, which limits transferability. Patients who were more severely ill may have declined or died before the intervention, and data were not collected on eligible people who declined. Interviews were by telephone, so non-verbal cues were not assessed, and inter-rater reliability was not calculated. Participants may have given socially desirable answers, and those who declined may have had worse experiences. They did not compare telemedicine with an in-person ICU recovery clinic. They made hypothetical comparisons based on past in-person healthcare visits. The questions were not pilot tested, transcripts were not returned to participants, and findings were not discussed with participants.

The authors declared no financial or other conflicts of interest. The article is tagged as supported by U.S. government and NIH research support, but the text does not say the funders designed, analysed, or wrote the study.

Do not read these positive experiences as proof that telemedicine ICU recovery clinics improve clinical outcomes. The study asked patients and caregivers about their experience after telemedicine visits. It did not compare telemedicine with in-person care, and it included only people who had internet access, a device, basic computer skills, and completed a telemedicine visit.