Key Takeaways:
- 6.3% of hospitalized patients received Tele-ID services
- 95% of patients with a consult avoided transfer to another acute care hosptial
- 10,000+ encounters completed
- 30% of hospitals within the health system now utilize Tele-Infectious Disease services from AmplifyMD
Challenge: Shortage of infectious disease physicians
Just two local infectious disease specialists supported the entire Columbus, Georgia area, covering three acute care hospitals and a busy outpatient clinic. As a result, Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown, a 583-bed tertiary care hospital, and its affiliate, 100-bed Piedmont Regional Northside, needed more infectious disease (ID) support for their hospitals than they could get locally.
About Piedmont Healthcare
Piedmont Healthcare is a Joint Comission accredited, not-for-profit health system serving 3.7 million Georgians at its 23 hospitals, 72 urgent care clinics, and over 1,800 Piedmont Clinic physician practices across the state.
Solution: AmplifyMD Tele-ID program
Beginning in April 2021, Piedmont Healthcare’s Columbus hospitals partnered with AmplifyMD for Tele Infectious Disease (Tele-ID) coverage to support the hospital’s ED, ICU, IMCU, and med-surg units.
Tele-ID consults and rounding 7-days a week enabled faster assessments, diagnoses, and treatment for patients needing specialist care. Patients benefited from:
- Expedited treatment plans
- Appropriate utilization of diagnostics
- Fewer unnecessary transfers
- Improved ED throughput
- Shorter length of stay
- Enhanced quality outcomes
Results
2023 Tele-ID Program impact across five hospitals:
6.3%
of hospitalized
patients received
Tele-ID services
95%
of patients treated avoided transfer to another hospital
10,000+
Tele-ID encounters
Program expansion
Based on the positive outcomes at Columbus Midtown and Northside, Piedmont Healthcare expanded the service to four more locations in 2022, and added two additional hospitals in early 2024.
Today, AmplifyMD covers 30% of Piedmont’s hospitals virtually, delivering top-quality infectious disease services when and where they are needed.
“Our medical staff appreciated how timely, fast, and responsive the AmplifyMD physicians are and how good they are with patient care, documentation, and communication. Their availability and timeliness help improve our throughput.”
-CMO, Piemont Columbus Midtown and Northside Hospitals
How AmplifyMD provides leadership for antibiotic stewardship and infection control
In addition to direct patient care, AmplifyMD’s infectious disease specialists play a key role in antibiotic stewardship and infection control at each hospital with a Tele-ID program. With AmplifyMD’s support, the hospitals have been able to:
- Optimize antibiotic regimens so patients receive the most appropriate treatment while minimizing the risk of antibiotic resistance
- Strategically transition patients from intravenous antibiotics to oral medications to reduce costs and length of stay, while improving patient experience
- Reduce health-associated infections (HAIs) through improved infection control practices and protocols
What are the positive impacts of Tele-ID coverage?
Want to learn more about Tele-ID programs?
Contact us to learn more about AmplifyMD’s Tele-ID services, and to see how we’re helping hospitals extend specialist expertise, reduce transfers, and strengthen continuity of care.
