Unnecessary antibiotic exposure in newborns is common and has been associated with adverse outcomes and increased cost of care. Lack of access to resources such as pediatric infectious diseases providers or nursery-specific antibiotic stewardship support is a major barrier for nurseries in rural or medically underserved areas.
Our preliminary data showed that telehealth consultation is a safe, effective approach to help providers care for infants with suspected or confirmed infection. The OKAPI program is designed to investigate the scalability, adoption, effectiveness, and sustainability of telehealth for neonatal infectious diseases across all rural or medically underserved areas of Texas to directly this health disparity.