TABLE 1.
Descriptive Characteristics of Patients Pre- and Postimplementation of Telehospitalist Service
| Preimplementation (N = 822 admissions) | Postimplementation (N = 550 admissions) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 65.7 (12.9) | 64.6 (13.5) | .129 |
|
| |||
| Male, No. (%) | 797 (97.0) | 524 (95.3) | .106 |
|
| |||
| Patient class, No. (%) | |||
| Inpatient | 586 (71.3) | 390 (70.9) | .879 |
| Observation/other | 236 (28.7) | 160 (29.1) | |
|
| |||
| Rurality, No. (%) | |||
| Rural | 683 (83.1) | 459 (83.5) | .859 |
| Urban | 139 (16.9) | 91 (16.5) | |
|
| |||
| Severity of illness score, concurrent Nosos risk score, mean (SD) | 6.88 (4.3) | 6.7 (4.3) | .448 |
|
| |||
| Top four admission diagnoses, No. (%) | |||
| Alcohol | 309 (37.6) | 198 (36.0) | .555 |
| Pneumonia | 32 (3.9) | 26 (4.7) | .452 |
| Cellulitis | 34 (4.1) | 23 (4.2) | .967 |
| Heart failure | 33 (4.0) | 18 (3.3) | .477 |
|
| |||
| Disposition, No. (%) | |||
| Home | 658 (80.1) | 412 (76.2) | .135a |
| Nursing home | 38 (4.6) | 28 (5.2) | |
| Funeral home/death | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.6) | |
| Transfer to another hospital | 98 (11.9) | 79 (14.6) | |
| Irregular/AMA discharges | 28 (3.4) | 19 (3.5) | |
Abbreviation: AMA, against medical advice.
a
Fisher’s exact test was used in analysis.