RESUMO
Implementing emergency department (ED) and hospital patient throughput management coupled with at-home medical and tele-management upon discharge may increase surge capacity during national emergencies and pandemics. This novel intensive transitional care management (ITCM) intervention presents the opportunity to optimize hospital bed capacity through prevention of inpatient admissions for patients who could be discharged home safely with appropriate in-home medical support and tele-management. This observational cohort intervention was conducted between April 7, 2020 and April 30, 2020, at the 4 largest inpatient facilities of RWJBarnabas Health System in New Jersey. The intervention group included a convenience sample of 192 patients who were evaluated in the ED, monitored in the observation unit, or admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection. Their outcomes were compared to a matched comparison group of 593 patients who were admitted with the same COVID-19-related diagnosis and severity. The primary outcome was the reduction in inpatient days as a result of the intervention that included provision of at-home oxygen supplementation therapy, expanded home care services, and tele-management sessions. Secondary outcomes were re-encounters with the health system in the ED, observation unit, or inpatient readmissions. A total of 481.6 hospital patient days were avoided for 78 patients who had been discharged from the ED or observation unit stays. Secondary analysis included hospital readmission rates. The ITCM intervention demonstrated a feasible strategy for improving throughput of patients with COVID-19, resulting in increased hospital bed capacity.
