The “Virtual” Obstetrical Intensive Care Unit: Providing Critical Care for Contemporary Obstetrics in Nontraditional Locations

Management of the critically ill pregnant patient presents a clinical dilemma in which there are sparse objective data to determine the optimal setting for provision of high-quality care to these patients. This clinical scenario will continue to present a challenge for providers as the chronic illness and comorbid conditions continue to become more commonly encountered in the obstetric population. Various care models exist across a broad spectrum of facilities that are characterized by differing levels of resources; however, no studies have identified which model provides the highest level of care and patient safety while maintaining a reasonable degree of cost-effectiveness. The health care needs of the critically ill obstetric patient calls for clinicians to move beyond the traditional definition of the intensive care unit and develop a well-rounded, quickly responsive, and communicative interdisciplinary team that can provide high-quality, unique, and versatile care that best meets the needs of each particular patient. We propose a model in which a virtual intensive care unit team composed of preselected specialists from multiple disciplines (maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology, obstetric anesthesiology, cardiology, pulmonology, etc) participate in the provision of individualized, precontemplated care that is readily adapted to the specific patient's clinical needs, regardless of setting. With this team-based approach, an environment of trust and familiarity is fostered among team members and well thought-out patient care plans are developed through routine prebrief discussions regarding individual clinical care for parturients anticipated to required critical care services. Incorporating debriefings between team members following these intricate cases will allow for the continued evolution of care as the medical needs of this patient population change as well.