SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Clinical Outcomes of a New Telehospitalist Program Covering Postacute Care

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This retrospective cohort study evaluated a newly implemented telehospitalist program at Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital and compared outcomes with usual care. The goal was to determine whether telehospitalist coverage could maintain or improve safety and quality metrics in a post-acute care setting.<br /><br />Patients seen by the telehospital medicine program from August 2021 to April 2022 were compared with patients receiving usual care during FY21. After excluding transitional months, the analysis included 317 telehospitalist patients and 456 usual-care patients overall. Specific outcome analyses included 336 patients in 2021 and 195 in 2022 for medication reconciliation, and 52 stroke patients in 2021 and 38 in 2022 for DVT prophylaxis.<br /><br />The study examined three key measures: medication reconciliation within 24 hours of admission, DVT prophylaxis ordering in stroke patients, and case mix index (CMI). Results showed a statistically significant improvement in medication reconciliation completion within 24 hours, rising from 58% in 2021 to 75.4% in 2022 (p = 0.017). DVT prophylaxis ordering on admission in stroke patients also improved significantly, from 79% to 94.6% (p = 0.043), exceeding the 90% target in 2022. CMI continued a long-term upward trend and reached 1.76 in 2022, the highest in four years.<br /><br />Overall, the findings suggest that telehospitalist coverage is associated with improved documentation and clinical quality measures in a post-acute rehabilitation hospital. The program may be especially useful for rural facilities facing staffing challenges, offering a more consistent and potentially safer care model. Future work will assess additional outcomes such as readmission, mortality, length of stay, and whether these findings can be replicated in other post-acute settings or in prospective trials comparing telehealth with usual care.

Asset Subtitle

Cassandre M. Perard

Meta Tag

Author List Cassandre M. Perard, David W. Walsh, Jackson Elam, Yao Kang

Category Innovations

Concept Telehospitalist Program

Concept Clinical Outcome Measure Compliance

Concept Medication Reconciliation

Concept Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis

Concept Case Mix Index

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Presenting Author Cassandre M. Perard

Track Value in Hospital Medicine

Keywords

telehospitalist

retrospective cohort study

post-acute care

rehabilitation hospital

medication reconciliation

DVT prophylaxis

stroke patients

case mix index

telehealth

quality metrics

Telehospitalist Program

Clinical Outcome Measure Compliance

Medication Reconciliation

Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis

Case Mix Index