Remote ICU care programs: current status.

The desire to provide continuous intensivist management for all intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the face of a massive shortfall of available intensivists prompted the introduction of remote ICU care programs in 1999. The past several years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of health systems adopting this care model. These health systems have increased our understanding of both the ability of this new care model to improve clinical outcomes and the clinical processes that are required to achieve program quality goals. Health systems have begun to expand the scope of activities of the remote care team, capitalizing on the potential of this new operational and technology platform to leverage scarce personnel and achieve increases in both clinical effectiveness and provider efficiency. This review summarizes the current state of remote ICU care programs in the United States.