Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Sep 2013
Multicenter StudyImpact of telemedicine on hospital transport, length of stay, and medical outcomes in infants with suspected heart disease: a multicenter study.
Previous single-center studies have shown that telemedicine improves care in newborns with suspected heart disease. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that telemedicine would shorten time to diagnosis, prevent unnecessary transports, reduce length of stay, and decrease exposure to invasive treatments. ⋯ Telemedicine shortened the time to diagnosis and significantly decreased the need for transport of infants with mild or no heart disease. The length of hospitalization and intensive care stay and use of indomethacin and inotropic support were less in telemedicine patients.