Abstract Introduction Traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity, hospital admissions and mortality. However, participation continues to be poor. Novel digital health models of care have emerged, providing a new frontier in healthcare delivery, but evidence for their impact on healthcare utilization is limited. We implemented and investigated a telehealth program complemented by a CR mobile app for patients following a hospitalization for coronary heart disease (CHD). Purpose To assess whether a digitally enabled CR program is equivalent to traditionally delivered CR (F2F-CR) and whether it reduces rehospitalizations and total hospital days compared to patients who did not undertake CR (no-CR). Methods Privately insured patients, following a hospitalization for CHD, were recruited nationally, across Australia, between October 2019 - 2020. Participants received weekly telehealth consultations for 8 weeks, supplemented by a CR mobile app. Using administrative private health insurance claims data, we assessed differences in 90-day and 12-month rehospitalizations and total hospital days for the digital-CR group (n=138) compared with a) F2F-CR (n=115) and b) no-CR (n=266). Results Among the cohort, 27% lived in regional/rural areas, 71% were male and the majority were aged over 60 years (83%). The digital-CR group had lower total hospital days relative to the no-CR group in the 12 months post index event (4.5 vs 7.2 days; mean difference 2.8 days; p=0.019; 95% CI: 5.1-0.5). Readmission rates were lower at 90 days and similar at 12 months post discharge in the digital-CR group compared with the no-CR group, although not statistically significant. There were 0.17 and 0.21 (p=0.43) readmissions per patient at 90 days post discharge and 1.08 and 1.07 (p=0.94) readmissions per patient within 12 months in the digital-CR group and no-CR group respectively. There were no significant differences for digital-CR relative to F2F-CR on any measures. Conclusion Rehospitalization rates were similar between the groups, whilst the digital-CR group had significantly fewer days in hospital than the no-CR group. Digital-CR may reduce the severity of rehospitalizations highlighted by fewer days in hospital. The digital-CR and F2F-CR outcomes were similar, confirming that digitally enabled CR programs provide similar benefits regarding reduced days in hospital, whilst providing additional benefits of improved access and choice. Digital-CR should be made widely available for cardiac patients post hospital discharge.Mean hospital days Digital-CR vs No-CRMean hospital days Digital-CR vs F2F-CR