Unlocking the promise of virtual care in hospitals: The Smarter Hospitals Project Protocol

Abstract Background Integration of virtual and in person care across health systems is a priority to create and sustain healthy nations by improving access to services, along with healthcare experiences, efficiency, and outcomes. Our collaborative project between health services, agencies, consumers, and clinicians across Australia seeks to provide the required evidence and solutions to optimise the integration of virtual care in hospital outpatient settings.Methods Our five-year project contains three sub-studies using a multi-method approach. Firstly, linked hospitalisation data will be used to describe the patterns of virtual outpatient use and the associated health service outcomes, including for priority populations. The second sub-study will use realist evaluation to determine the context, circumstances, and populations in which virtual care is used successfully, and economic impact of virtual care. We will then test the effectiveness of a co-designed Specialised Change Methodology for improving workforce change readiness and capability for integrating virtual models of care compared to current practice within health redevelopment settings. Statistical and qualitative analytic techniques will be applied.Discussion The study will generate evidence and resources to support the successful integration of virtual care in Australian health systems. Ethics approval has been obtained from the Victorian Human Research Ethics Committee (Study 1: HREC/97793/DOH-2023-383794), and Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (Study 2: 520231303852269; Study 3 520231586954286). Research dissemination will be channelled through established communities of practice in Australian states to reach networks of clinicians, consumers and health managers. Further targeted outputs will be devised in collaboration with the consumer, clinician and health system partners to guide the implementation and use of virtual modalities in outpatient care, with equity as a central consideration. In addition to scientific research outputs, we will develop and disseminate evidence-based Virtual Care Design Principles, Evaluation Framework and Specialised Change Methodology for improving the integration of virtual outpatient hospital care.