Parkview Heart Institute Telecardiology Consultation Service (PHI-TCS) Outcomes
Abstract
Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in the United States, and there is a growing shortage of physician specialists necessary to address this issue. Telecardiology is a form of telemedicine that allows cardiologists to treat patients from remote locations, and this form of patient care has the potential to improve both patient and economic outcomes, as well as reduce the length of patient hospitalization. The PHI-TCS was established at Parkview Huntington Hospital in September 2016 and has since been extended to additional Parkview community hospitals.
Objective: Our objectives in this study were to evaluate the usage patterns of the Parkview Heart Institute Telecardiology Consultation Service (PHI-TCS), including rates of admission, readmission, transfer, and acute cardiac intervention, and to compare the cost of PHI-TCS to the cost of patient transfer. Hypothesis: The PHI-TCS improves patient and economic outcomes. Methods & Design: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 90 patients, totaling to 91 telecardiology encounters that were above the age of 18 and had a telecardiology consultation at a Parkview community hospital participating in the PHI-TCS in or after September 2016. We also obtained financial data and the average length of hospitalization corresponding to encounter type. Results: On average, when compared to standard care, patients saved $5420 dollars and reduced their length of stay by 1.4 days when routinely discharged after PHI-TCS consult, and they saved $541 and reduced their length of stay by 0.8 of a day when seen by PHI-TCS and transferred to PRMC. Conclusion: The PHI-TCS offers an economic benefit, improves patient outcomes, and reduces length of hospitalization.
Provider education and standardization of PHI-TCS usage indications are areas for future research.