“Open communication is foundational to establishing a therapeutic relationship between healthcare providers and the patients and families they serve,” said Dr. Joanne Gould Kuntz of the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Kuntz, who wasn’t involved with the new paper, has researched virtual family meetings for palliative care during the pandemic.

“While video virtual visits do help . . . there is no equal substitute for in-person visitors that can replicate the safety, support and communication that occurs when key family members are able to be present at the bedside,” she told Reuters Health by email.

As the pandemic continues in the months ahead, hospitals need a tailored approach based on local and regional infections and should potentially consider visitors’ COVID-19 vaccine status, the authors write.

“I am hopeful that widespread vaccination in the coming months will not only reduce the overall infection rates of COVID-19 but also facilitate a return to more normal hospital policies,” said Dr. Jordan Cloyd of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, who has researched COVID-19 visitor policies and the effect on surgery patients.

“As we embrace another surge of COVID-19 and are set to begin the second year of this pandemic, it is important to modify our policies to reflect what we have learned over the past year in order to optimally balance the benefits and risks to patients, staff and our communities,” Dr. Cloyd, who also was not involved with the new report, told Reuters Health by email.