An Accelerated Hospital Observation Pathway to Reduce Length of Stay for Patients With COVID-19

AJMC November 17, 2021
Austin S. Kilaru, MD, Stefanie B. Porges, MD, Lindsay Grossman, BA, M. Kit Delgado, MD, Anna U. Morgan, MD, Krisda H. Chaiyachati, MD, David A. Asch, MD, S. Ryan Greysen, MD, Amy C. Lockwood, DNP, Keith C. Hemmert, MD, Susan McGinley, CRNP, Nancy Mannion, DNP, Ann Marie Huffenberger, DBA, Eric Bressman, MD, Nina O’Connor, MD, Neda Khan, MHCI, Mohan Balachandran, MS, Christopher K. Snider, MPH, Aria Xiong, MS, Nandita Mitra, PhD, Kathleen C. Lee, MD

For select patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, an academic urban hospital implemented an observation pathway that incorporated mobile health technology, reducing hospital length of stay by more than 2 days.

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Strategies to maintain hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic included reducing hospital length of stay (LOS) for infected patients. We sought to evaluate the association between LOS and enrollment in the COVID Accelerated Care Pathway, which consisted of a hospital observation protocol and postdischarge automated text message–based monitoring.

Study Design: Retrospective matched cohort study of patients hospitalized from December 14, 2020, to January 31, 2021.

Methods: Participants were patients who presented to the emergency department with acute infection due to COVID-19, required hospitalization, and met pathway inclusion criteria....

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