Table 2.

Recommendations for improved inpatient telemedicine use.

Opportunity for improvement	Recommendations
Information technology (IT) support and training	Robust and locally available IT support staff to manage tablet maintenance, including charging and updating software, and to support the education of key end users Technological onboarding for the extended care team should go beyond written instructions and include videos and real-time support
Increased technical functionality	Camera and microphone functionalities in the patient room may be further optimized by relocating devices to the ceiling or wall, out of the way of bedside care Remote direction change, zoom, and volume functionalities may reduce the currently reported need for nursing staff to enter the room to reposition and change tablet settings Additional functionality focused on patient privacy may include a camera that clearly points away from the patient when it is not in use and incorporates a “knock knock” feature prior to automatic answer
Remote access for staff	Remote inpatient telemedicine can increase patient-team connections and leverage a partially remote workforce by enabling the clinical team to check on patients from remote settings outside of the COVID-19 designated unit National policies surrounding parity in reimbursement for telemedicine services and privacy laws that are still under debate in the United States will determine the feasibility of this recommendation