RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Post Discharge after Surgery Virtual Care with Remote Automated Monitoring Technology (PVC-RAM): protocol for a randomized controlled trial JF CMAJ Open JO CMAJ FD Canadian Medical Association SP E142 OP E148 DO 10.9778/cmajo.20200176 VO 9 IS 1 A1 Michael H. McGillion A1 Joel Parlow A1 Flavia K. Borges A1 Maura Marcucci A1 Michael Jacka A1 Anthony Adili A1 Manoj M. Lalu A1 Homer Yang A1 Ameen Patel A1 Susan O’Leary A1 Vikas Tandon A1 Gavin M. Hamilton A1 Marko Mrkobrada A1 Carley Ouellette A1 Marissa Bird A1 Sandra Ofori A1 David Conen A1 Pavel S. Roshanov A1 Valerie Harvey A1 Gordon H. Guyatt A1 Yannick Le Manach A1 Shrikant I. Bangdiwala A1 Ramiro Arellano A1 Ted Scott A1 Jennifer Lounsbury A1 Dylan A. Taylor A1 Rahima Nenshi A1 Alan J. Forster A1 Mahesh Nagappa A1 Andre Lamy A1 Elizabeth Peter A1 Kelsea Levesque A1 Kristen Marosi A1 Sultan Chaudhry A1 Shariq Haider A1 Lesly Deuchar A1 Brandi LeBlanc A1 Colin J.L. McCartney A1 Emil H. Schemitsch A1 Jessica Vincent A1 Shirley M. Pettit A1 James Paul A1 Deborah DuMerton A1 Angela Djuric Paulin A1 Marko Simunovic A1 David C. Williams A1 Samantha Halman A1 Christopher M. Schlachta A1 Jessica Shelley A1 John Harlock A1 Ralph M. Meyer A1 Michelle Graham A1 Harsha Shanthanna A1 Neil Parry A1 David R. Pichora A1 Haroon Yousef A1 Husein Moloo A1 Herman Sehmbi A1 Melissa Waggott A1 Emilie P. Belley-Cote A1 Richard Whitlock A1 P.J. Devereaux A1 , YR 2021 UL http://www.cmajopen.ca/content/9/1/E142.abstract AB Background: After nonelective (i.e., semiurgent, urgent and emergent) surgeries, patients discharged from hospitals are at risk of readmissions, emergency department visits or death. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we are undertaking the Post Discharge after Surgery Virtual Care with Remote Automated Monitoring Technology (PVC-RAM) trial to determine if virtual care with remote automated monitoring (RAM) compared with standard care will increase the number of days adult patients remain alive at home after being discharged following nonelective surgery.Methods: We are conducting a randomized controlled trial in which 900 adults who are being discharged after nonelective surgery from 8 Canadian hospitals are randomly assigned to receive virtual care with RAM or standard care. Outcome adjudicators are masked to group allocations. Patients in the experimental group learn how to use the study’s tablet computer and RAM technology, which will measure their vital signs. For 30 days, patients take daily biophysical measurements and complete a recovery survey. Patients interact with nurses via the cellular modem–enabled tablet, who escalate care to preassigned and available physicians if RAM measurements exceed predetermined thresholds, patients report symptoms, a medication error is identified or the nurses have concerns they cannot resolve. The primary outcome is number of days alive at home during the 30 days after randomization.Interpretation: This trial will inform management of patients after discharge following surgery in the COVID-19 pandemic and offer insights for management of patients who undergo nonelective surgery in a nonpandemic setting. Knowledge dissemination will be supported through an online multimedia resource centre, policy briefs, presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications and media engagement. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT04344665