Background: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a promising new tool to monitor patients who have historically required observation visits in a hospital, or would have remained hospitalized longer if initiated at hospital discharge, and was widely used in the COVID-19 pandemic. We report the outcomes of hospital admission and urgent/emergent care service utilization in a [...]

Background: Hospitalizations to treat SARS-CoV-2 infected patients have strained health systems worldwide. Monitored outpatient management of select low-risk COVID-19 patients with isolated exertional hypoxia could help preserve hospital resources and reduce costs while aiming to maintain a high standard of care. In this retrospective cohort analysis, we aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of [...]

Background: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a promising new tool to monitor patients who have historically required observation visits in a hospital, or would have remained hospitalized longer if initiated at hospital discharge, and was widely used in the COVID-19 pandemic. We report the outcomes of hospital admission and urgent/emergent care service utilization in a [...]

Background: With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the need for telemedicine is growing rapidly worldwide. The development and improvement of remote physical examination systems, especially remote cardiopulmonary auscultation are required to facilitate telemedicine. A system combining an electronic stethoscope and Bluetooth connectivity is a promising option for remote auscultation in hospitals and clinics. However, the [...]

Background:    Electronic consults (“e-consults”) are commonly used in the outpatient setting to allow subspecialists to provide documented recommendations to primary care doctors without a face-to-face patient encounter. In the inpatient setting, a consult that does not require a patient encounter is often handled via informal conversation (“curbside consult”) – the consultant is not reimbursed [...]

Background: Nationwide, hospitals are experiencing high patient volumes, attributed to medical complexity, hospital length of stay, and hospital readmissions, among other factors. In this context, hospitalists’ roles have been expanding to optimize care during and following hospitalization. Post-discharge care is typically managed by primary care providers, and there is sparse information on programs that leverage [...]

Background: Heart failure (HF) hospital readmissions are a leading cause of US 30-day hospital readmissions. Factors related to clinical complexity and unmet social needs are among the key drivers associated with HF negative clinical outcomes. Digital platforms have shown promise in improving HF outcomes but limitations like patient lack of familiarity with technology and unmet [...]

Background: To address bed capacity concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) waived the certificate of medical necessity for oxygen claims, allowing for reimbursement for oxygen prescribed for patients upon hospital discharge with COVID-19 respiratory illness. This reimbursement allows providers to discharge patients with COVID-19 respiratory illness still [...]

Background: Telemedicine emerged as an innovative approach to addressing staffing shortages for hospitalists in resource-limited areas (1), the COVID-19 surge (2), and off-hour shifts (3). Telemedicine can be adapted to non-traditional hospitalist roles, i.e. the triagist where a hospitalist assesses patients for potential admissions and supports outpatient to inpatient transitions (4). Modifying the triagist to [...]

Background: Consumer satisfaction is largely dependent on convenience, efficiency, and quality, and healthcare is no outlier. Technological advancements, such as the use of artificial intelligence or virtual visit appointments, is emerging as a new form of healthcare provided. While these technologies have existed far before the COVID-19 pandemic, it has expedited the mass population’s acclimation [...]