Abstract Objectives To determine the impact of an automated patient engagement solutions (APES) pathway at discharge on parental communication and length of stay (LOS) compared to traditional approach. Study design This quasi-experimental study took place in a level 4 neonatal intensive care unit. The APES at discharge (APES-D) pathway was implemented on January 18, 2022. Infants admitted in year prior formed the Pre-Intervention group. Post-implementation infants were categorized as APES-D Users (opted in) or Non-users (opted out). Results Pre-Intervention and APES-D groups had similar LOS ( p = 0.54). APES-D Users had shorter LOS than APES-D Non-users ( p = 0.007) and Pre-Intervention and APES-D Non-users combined ( p = 0.03). Time between discharge document completion and actual discharge was longer in APES-D ( p < 0.001). Commercial insurance was associated with shorter LOS ( p < 0.001). Among APES-D Users, 91.7% engaged with the platform. Conclusion APES-D was associated with high parental engagement and shorter LOS, but usage varied by social determinants, warranting further study.
Stefanescu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.