Identification of tele-ICU system requirements using a content validity assessment.
OBJECTIVES
Telemedicine in intensive care (tele-ICU) involves the use of information technologies to deliver care instructions from a command center to remote hospitals. To ensure acceptance and usability, clinicians should participate early in the design. This study surveyed clinical professionals to identify and rank important functions for a tele-ICU system.


METHODS
This cross-sectional, prospective, structured, two-round survey included European intensive-care professionals that were not familiar with tele-ICU systems. In the first round, statements of system function specifications were evaluated for validity; in the second round, unclear items were rephrased and new items were added. Item-level content validity indexes (I-CVI) were calculated, and values above a 0.75 threshold were considered relevant. Weighted ranking points (WRP) was calculated from the ranking data.


RESULTS
A total of 26 responses were received from professionals for four European countries; the majority were intensive-care specialists (77%). A total set of 50 items were selected for the survey. Thirty-six functional specifications were identified with I-CVIs above 0.75, including online access to all patient data (13 items), related risks and alarms (8 items), audio-visual contact for consultations and for monitoring patient beds (5 items), information security (5 items), and resource allocation (5 items). The highest ranking system functions were real time monitoring, alarms, audio-visual connections, and data security.


CONCLUSIONS
Professionals not familiar with tele-ICUs regarded full patient data access, alarms, data security, and audio-visual connections the most important functions in pre-implementation phase.
['Larinkari|Simo|S|', 'Liisanantti|Janne H|JH|', 'Ala-Lääkkölä|Timo|T|', 'Meriläinen|Merja|M|', 'Kyngäs|Helvi|H|', 'Ala-Kokko|Tero|T|']
D000328:Adult D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel D002983:Clinical Competence D003422:Critical Care D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007362:Intensive Care Units D008297:Male D061214:Patient Safety D011446:Prospective Studies D011787:Quality of Health Care D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D017216:Telemedicine
Tele-ICU Content validity assessment Telemedicine