From Northwell Health, Lake Success, NY.
Objective: Northwell Health, New York’s largest health care organization, rapidly adopted technology solutions to support patient and family communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This case series outlines the pragmatic, interdisciplinary approach Northwell underwent to rapidly implement patient virtual visitation processes during the peak of the initial crisis.
Results: Implementation of large-scale virtual visitation required leadership, technology, and dedicated, empathetic frontline professionals. Patient and family feedback uncovered varied feelings and perspectives, from confusion to gratitude.
Conclusion: Subsequent efforts to obtain direct patient and family perspectives and insights helped Northwell identify areas of strength and ongoing performance improvement.
Keywords: virtual visitation; COVID-19; technology; communication; patient experience.
The power of human connection has become increasingly apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery phases. Due to the need for social distancing, people worldwide have turned to virtual means of communication, staying in touch with family, friends, and colleagues via digital technology platforms. On March 18, 2020, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) issued a health advisory, suspending all hospital visitation.1 As a result, hospitals rapidly transformed existing in-person visitation practices to meet large-scale virtual programming needs.