Automatic ID Consultation for Inpatients With COVID-19: Point, Counterpoint, and a Single-Center Experience. (11th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nguyen, Cynthia T; Olson, Gregory; Pho, Mai T; Lew, Alison K; Pitrak, David; Saltzman, Jina; Hazra, Aniruddha; Pursell, Kenneth; Pettit, Natasha N
• Is Part Of: Open forum infectious diseases. Volume 7:Number 10(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08-11
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- infectious diseases -- referral and consultation; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Medical microbiology -- Periodicals; Infection -- Periodicals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa318
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2328-8957

Abstract

Abstract: There are many unknowns with regard to COVID-19 clinical management, including the role of Infectious Diseases Consultation (IDC). As hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue, hospitals are assessing how to optimally and efficiently manage COVID-19 inpatients. Typically, primary teams must determine when IDC is appropriate, and ID clinicians provide consultation upon request of the primary team. IDC has been shown to be beneficial for many conditions; however, the impact of IDC for COVID-19 is unknown. Herein, we discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of automatic IDC for COVID-19 inpatients. Important considerations include the quality of care provided, allocation and optimization of resources, and clinician satisfaction. Finally, we describe how automatic IDC changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at a single academic medical center.