Pharmacists in the virtual ICU: A powerful prescription for better outcomes
- By Philips
- June 10 2025
- 3 min read
When pharmacists join the virtual care team, the results are transformative. At one facility, integrating pharmacists into the Philips eCareManager-enabled virtual ICU led to measurable improvements in patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Rebecca Conley, PharmD, and her team are proving that pharmacists bring critical insight, medication expertise and collaborative strength to virtual care, helping hospitals elevate performance and patient care.
At-a-glance:
- Pharmacists in the virtual ICU improve medication management and care coordination.
- Rebecca Conley’s team saw a 26% reduction in ICU mortality and 10% shorter length of stay.
- Philips eCareManager helps benchmark performance and drive continuous improvement.
Expanding the virtual care team beyond nurses and physicians
In a bold move to enhance ICU care, a virtual command center partnered with Philips to integrate pharmacists into its virtual care team. This initiative, led by Rebecca Conley, PharmD, recognized the untapped potential of pharmacists in critical care settings. With their deep pharmacological expertise, pharmacists became essential contributors to the multidisciplinary virtual ICU team.
Driving clinical and operational improvements
Using Philips eCareManager, Rebecca and her team gained real-time insights and benchmarking capabilities that helped them optimize care delivery. The results speak volumes:
- 26.26% reduction in ICU mortality ratio
- 10.26% reduction in ICU length of stay
- 18.75% reduction in patients with hyperglycemia
- 1.43% reduction in ventilator days
These improvements were driven by pharmacist-led initiatives such as standardizing admission and discharge orders, and developing protocols for glycemic control, sedation and renal injury.
Enhancing collaboration and continuity of care
Pharmacists helped close communication gaps among care team members, ensuring alignment on treatment plans and improving continuity of care. Their presence added a layer of clinical oversight that enhanced decision-making and patient safety.
Looking ahead: 24/7 pharmacist coverage and research leadership
Rebecca’s team is now working to expand pharmacist coverage to 24/7, ensuring round-the-clock access to their expertise. They also aim to lead research-driven initiatives and establish evidence-based best practices that can elevate care across the healthcare system.
eCareManager revolutionizes how we benchmark and improve care, offering limitless potential to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency by comparing our performance with others nationwide.
