Tele‐hospitalist services to support the opening of a new rural hospital

As rural hospitals experiencing low patient volume and workforce shortages continue to close nationally, we present an innovative telemedicine care delivery model utilized to support the opening of a new 25-bed rural hospital in South Carolina in 2023. Since opening, the tele-hospitalist service has been responsible for 84% of discharged patients with high patient experience scores. From quarter 1 to quarter 6, patients were admitted from a growing market area with a financially more favorable payer mix while demonstrating comparable clinical outcomes. We believe this model has the potential to be replicated in other rural hospitals throughout the United States.