Background: Telemedicine allows for remote patient evaluation and treatment. Traditionally this model has been applied to rural medical centers with physician shortages. Implementation of a telehospitalist program at well-staffed tertiary care centers may streamline services provided by on-site physicians and improve patient satisfaction. Purpose: Successfully implement a telehospitalist consultation service at a tertiary referral hospital, [...]

Background: Prior to the COVID Pandemic, the telemedicine market was expected to grow at a rate of 18.4 percent a year. With the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act signed into law in March 2020, Telehealth has experienced rapid expansion. Tele-hospital medicine is carving out several new niches. One is providing a virtual hospitalist [...]

Background: Hospital bed capacity is limited across the nation due to increased demand and staffing shortages. Capacity shortages result in hospital diversion and therefore impact Emergency Department (ED) length of stay and ED medical boarding. A large tertiary hospital typically serves as the referral hub for many smaller hospitals in the region, and optimizing bed [...]

Background: Rural areas are disproportionately affected by physician shortages, and small rural hospitals in particular struggle to staff acute medicine services 24/7. Telehospitalist models are emerging as an alternative to provide inpatient medicine services in rural settings. In a 2018 needs assessment of rural Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals, 60% percent reported being short on [...]