Most hospitals treat infectious disease coverage as a scheduling problem. It isn’t. It’s a patient safety and revenue problem that shows up in places administrators don’t expect.
Access is thinner than most hospitals realize. Nearly 80% of U.S. counties have no infectious disease physician on staff, leaving more than 200 million Americans with little to no ID specialist access.1
Hidden risks include:
Longer length of stay
Lost revenue due to transfers to tertiary centers
More patients discharged on IV antibiotics
Antibiotic overprescribing, resulting in increased costs
With tele-ID, your hospital can make real, meaningful impact on these hidden problems.
Infectious Disease Connect’s proven research shows the impact of tele-ID.
Length of stay impact:
At one partner hospital, average length of stay fell from 9.08 to 7.5 days, a 1.58-day reduction, even though those patients carried a higher comorbidity burden than the comparison group.2
Antimicrobial impact:
At the same hospital, Oral antibiotic discharges rose from 23% to 39%, and IV discharges dropped from 51% to 34%, meaning fewer PICC lines, less home infusion, and simpler transitions home.2
Unnecessary transfer impact:
Transfers to tertiary centers dropped from 12 to 5.3
While at the surface, limited ID coverage seems like it is simply a staffing gap, the implications can be more widespread. A lack of ID covereage shows up in longer stays, higher antibiotic costs, missed diagnoses, and lost admissions. Hospitals that close the gap with consistent, daily specialist access see the difference in their outcomes and their bottom line.
Ready to get started? Contact us today to learn how Infectious Disease Connect can help your hospital achieve its quality and financial goals.
References
- Nabha L, Mehta Steinke S. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024;11(11):ofae668.
- Nanjappa S, et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025;12(7):ofaf371.
- Gupta N, et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022;9(8):ofac410.
- Gupta A, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2026;ciag003.
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