A Retrospective Cohort Study to Assess the Impact of an Inpatient Infectious Disease Telemedicine Consultation Service on Hospital and Patient Outcomes.
Publication/Presentation Date
4-19-2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Here we review our experience of providing inpatient Infectious Disease (ID) consultation using real-time interactive telemedicine assessment. We sought to obtain a baseline and trends regarding the use of telemedicine ID consults (teleID) as an adjunct to the standard of care through the time period when teleID consultations were begun.
METHODS: Data were pulled via manual retrospective chart review of the electronic medical record (EMR). Primary outcomes included Length of Stay (LOS), antibiotic usage, and incidence of relapse.
RESULTS: There were a total of 244 patients at one remote hospital site who were provided with ID consultation either in person or via teleID or both. Before availability of teleID (pre-teleID) there were 73 patients transferred and seen by ID, while 171 patients were seen via teleID when teleID became available. While all 73 patients in the pre-teleID group were transferred from the remote hospital to the hub hospital, only 14 (8.2%) of all remote hospital patients assessed by teleID were transferred. Patient LOS across both facilities decreased when patients were seen via teleID compared to pre-teleID (p=0.0001). The median number of days that patients received antibiotics decreased in the teleID group (median=15, IQR=9-25) compared to the pre-teleID group (median=19, IQR=11-28), but this decrease was not statistically significant (p=0.0770). There was no statistically significant difference in relapse rates, although data were lacking because of patients being lost to follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: ID telemedicine practice directed at inpatients appears to be a promising route of care.
ISSN
1537-6591
Published In/Presented At
Monkowski, D. Rhodes III, L. V., Templer, S. Kromer, S. Hartner, J. Pianucci, K. Kincaid, H. (2019). A Retrospective Cohort Study to Assess the Impact of an Inpatient Infectious Disease Telemedicine Consultation Service on Hospital and Patient Outcomes. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Disciplines
Infectious Disease
PubMedID
31002338
Department(s)
Medical Education, Department of Medicine, Department of Medicine Faculty, Network Office of Research and Innovation
Document Type
Article