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Oral Concurrent Session 9 - Quality

Oral Concurrent Sessions

Oral Concurrent Session 9 - Quality

(92) The Impact of an Inpatient MFM Telemedicine Program on Maternal Morbidity

Friday, February 13, 2026

8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

Location: Summit 218 - 221

Submitting Author(s)

Adina R. Kern-Goldberger, MD, MPH, MSCE

Assistant Professor
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Coauthor(s)

CG

Cecilia Ganduglia Cazaban, DrPH, MD

UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Houston, Texas, United States
CT

Chau Truong, PhD

UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Houston, Texas, United States
SP

Sulki Park, PhD

UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Houston, Texas, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Sina Haeri, MD (he/him/his)

Chief Executive Officer
Ouma Health
Austin, Texas, United States

Coauthor(s)

Sindhu K. Srinivas, MD, MSCE (she/her/hers)

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine, Pregnancy & Perinatal Research Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Objective:
Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM deserts) create geographic disparities in access to high-risk obstetric care, adversely affecting outcomes. While telemedicine has expanded access in outpatient care, its impact in the inpatient setting is less understood. We evaluated whether an inpatient MFM telemedicine program was associated with reductions in severe maternal morbidity (SMM).

Study Design:

This retrospective cohort study used the Texas Health Care Information Collection Inpatient Public Use Data File to analyze all deliveries at 3 Texas hospitals utilizing an MFM inpatient telemedicine. Program implementation occurred from November to December 2022, with January–June 2023 considered a wash-in period. Outcomes during the post-implementation period (July–December 2023) were compared with a matched pre-implementation period (July–December 2022). The primary outcome was SMM, as defined by the CDC. Bivariable analyses evaluated patient characteristics, and multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds of SMM.

Results:

There were 2,165 deliveries in the pre-implementation cohort and 2,253 post-implementation. Table 1 depicts patient characteristics: post-implementation had a higher proportion of patients < 20 years old, Black patients, patients with commercial insurance, and higher mean obstetric co-morbidity index. Adjusted analysis demonstrated a 34% reduction in SMM following program implementation (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45–0.96, p=0.03) (Table 2). The improvement in SMM was driven primarily by one hospital.

Conclusion:
Implementation of an inpatient MFM telemedicine program was associated with significantly reduced SMM, highlighting its potential to improve outcomes in regions with limited access to MFM specialists. Future work should explore hospital-level barriers and facilitators, as well as policy and reimbursement strategies to support broader adoption, equity, and scalability.