The OB Virtual Visit: It's Your Pregnancy Journey, Why Not Do It Your Way?

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Title: The OB Virtual Visit: It's Your Pregnancy Journey, Why Not Do It Your Way?

Malinda Carlile, MN, WHNP, BC, RNC, OB , OB Care Connect, MultiCare System, Tacoma, WA

Discipline: Childbearing (CB), Women’s Health (WH)

Learning Objectives:
  1. Identify three benefits of the OB Virtual Visit.
  2. Integrate OB Virtual Visits into their own practice.
  3. Contrast OB Virtual Visits with Traditional OB visits.
Submission Description:
Purpose for the program: The purpose of this poster presentation is to share the OB Virtual Visit model successfully developed and implemented at MultiCare Health System.  This program gives women options for how to receive their OB prenatal care, allows flexibility with schedules, increases partner involvement, and provides convenient delivery of routine prenatal care.  Additionally, the OB Virtual Visit improves compliance with prenatal care recommendations while providing positive pregnancy outcomes.

Proposed change: Telemedicine is used to replace half of the traditional, in person prenatal visits (Virtual and traditional visits alternate).  At each OB Virtual Visit a complete fetal and maternal assessment is performed. 

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:   A multidisciplinary team met to discuss increasing patient options for OB care and seeking opportunities to increase care- and cost-efficiency.  The resultant program includes three options for prenatal care: traditional MD visits, group visits alternating with MD visits, and Virtual Visits alternating with MD visits.  Since the program’s implementation in June 2012, the Virtual Visit program has become a very popular option for women from all backgrounds.  Patients describe the program as “empowering” as they take a more active role in their own care.  They also report that the Virtual Visit eases coordination of busy schedules, allowing them to comply with recommended care schedules while providing flexibility in terms of hours and location.  The Virtual Visit enables physicians to focus more of their clinic time on high-risk patients and increase productivity.

Implications for nursing practice:  As prenatal care becomes more convenient and accessible, improvement can be made in both women’s prenatal experience and pregnancy outcomes.  Technology is being increasingly used in all aspects of life in today’s connected world; telemedicine is a natural progression of this up-and-coming platform.  The Virtual Visit empowers women, giving them options for how to receive their OB prenatal care, allowing flexibility with schedules, increasing partner involvement, and providing convenient delivery of routine prenatal care. 

Keywords: Tele-medicine, Prenatal Care, Patient-Centered Care, Pregnancy

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The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.