A Retrospective Cohort Study to Assess the Impact of an Inpatient Infectious Disease Telemedicine Consultation Service on Hospital and Patient Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Here, we review our experience of providing inpatient infectious disease (ID) consultations using real-time interactive telemedicine assessments. We sought to obtain a baseline and document trends regarding the use of telemedicine ID (teleID) consults as an adjunct to the standard of care through the time period in which teleID consultations were introduced. METHODS: Data were pulled via manual, retrospective chart reviews of the electronic medical record. Primary outcomes included lengths of stay (LOS), antibiotic usage, and relapse incidences. RESULTS: There were a total of 244 patients at 1 remote hospital site who were provided with ID consultations, either in person, via teleID, or both. Before the availability of teleID (pre-teleID), there were 73 patients transferred for ID consults, while 171 patients were seen via teleID once 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 = .0001). The median number of days that patients received antibiotics decreased in the teleID group (median 15, interquartile range [IQR] 9-25), compared to the pre-teleID group (median 19, IQR 11-28), but this decrease was not statistically significant (P = .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.