Supplementary materials: An economic and health outcome evaluation of telehealth in rural sepsis care: a comparative effectiveness study

<b>These are peer-reviewed supplementary materials for the article '</b><b>Effects of cardiovascular single pill</b><b> </b><b>combinations compared with identical</b><b> </b><b>multi-pill therapies on healthcare cost and</b><b> </b><b>utilization in Germany</b><b>' published in the</b><b> </b><b><i>Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research</i></b><b>.</b><b>Supplemental Appendix 1: </b>ICD-10 Codes<b>Aim:</b> Sepsis is a top contributor to in-hospital mortality and, healthcare expenditures and telehealth have been shown to improve short-term sepsis care in rural hospitals. This study will evaluate the effect of provider-to-provider video telehealth in rural emergency departments (EDs) on healthcare costs and long term outcomes for sepsis patients. <b>Materials &amp; methods:</b> We will use Medicare administrative claims to compare total healthcare expenditures, mortality, length-of-stay, readmissions, and category-specific costs between telehealth-subscribing and control hospitals. <b>Results: </b>The results of this work will demonstrate the extent to which telehealth use is associated with total healthcare expenditures for sepsis care. <b>Conclusion:</b> These findings will be important to inform future policy initiatives to improve sepsis care in rural EDs.