A Robotic Device to Enhance Nursing Home Provider Telepresence During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Feb;23(2):311-314.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.11.013. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to face-to-face communication with people residing in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) settings. Telemedicine is an alternative, but facility staff may be overburdened with the management of the equipment. Here we introduce the use of a mobile HIPPA-compliant telepresence robot (MTR) to bridge this barrier, which may be beneficial to reimagine options for PALTC in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19; Telemedicine; long-term care; nursing home staff burden; robotics.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Nursing Homes
  • Pandemics
  • Robotic Surgical Procedures*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Telemedicine*