Artech Tele-Visit Experience of Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital
Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital started to serve in October 2010 and serve an average of 200 thousand patients per year. The hospital, which has an average of 6000 operations, is one of our country's most important health institutions. The country's leading physicians work in their fields in all clinical branches.
Spec. Dr. Feyza İnceköy Girgin works as a pediatric intensive care specialist in the Pediatric intensive care department at Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital.
Before the pandemic, there were visiting hours for relatives twice a day. These family visits are of great importance because they see how their patients are and where they are staying, get information, and remain in physical contact with their patients. This communication process is an integral part of the treatment process. However, during the pandemic, we had to abolish the visits to relatives of patients, as in all of Turkey. With the abolition of physical visits, we realized that there is a significant increase in the anxiety levels of families. Although doctors give information, families want to see their children, and children want to see their families.
"Treating the disease is a separate stage, but children need to know that you are with them and that they are not alone in the intensive care unit. This is also very important for families."
As healthcare professionals, we have entered a very intense working period, especially in the pediatric intensive care unit, with the pandemic. We become both the doctors and our children's parents in intensive care. We have unconscious and conscious patients, and since they are children, they need to know that we are with them. Although treating the disease is a separate stage, they need to know that you are with them and that they are not alone here. This is also very important for families. The anxiety levels of families whose children are in intensive care are inevitably increasing.
After abolishing the visits, we observed increased anxiety both in the patient's relatives and the patient's side. Therefore, we contacted Çizgi Teknoloji to develop a device where children can make video calls with their families, and thus a social responsibility project was created.
Since our patients are in different departments, we stated that a portable, ergonomic, easy-to-clean device that can connect to the internet without any problems would be beneficial. The device was designed and brought to us in a short time. In addition, the Çizgi Teknoloji team always supported us by returning whenever we called, either by phone or by coming to the hospital.
Artech Tele-Visit solution is an ergonomically designed device. We did not have any problems in moving it between patients and rooms. In addition, we disinfected the device with the products we used in hospital disinfection, and we did not experience any problems.
"Thanks to the Artech Tele-Visit solution, we were able to provide video calls between families and patients by sending a message to the relatives of the patients and accepting them, without using our phones."
Patients were able to talk to their families, families could see their patients, and we, as doctors, simultaneously shared information about our patients with their families.
We have always continued to inform families face-to-face and over the phone to families who cannot come. Still, it is much more beneficial for families to see their patients and get information by seeing them. Artech Tele-Visit solution has made invaluable contributions to children and families because seeing is something different. There is a severe decrease in anxiety; I saw this in families and our patients during the interviews.
"The families conveyed their messages of thanks and satisfaction to the chief physician for this application."
I think the Artech Tele-Visit solution is beneficial. Artech Tele-Visit solution can easily use in intensive care units where relatives of patients cannot be admitted, patients staying in anesthesia recovery rooms for a long time, trans bone marrow, and other transplant units.