Did you know that strokes are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide? Globally, 1 in 4 adults over the age of 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime. Half of these patients will face severe challenges such as impaired mobility, speech and cognition. These issues can lead to significant financial and care burdens for individuals, caregivers and healthcare systems.
In most situations, the neurologists treating the increasing volume of stroke patients are overworked and understaffed, with the average wait time for non-emergency visits reaching over 90 business days. The gap in neurologist care is primarily because hospitals can not afford increased staff or there is a lack of area personnel to meet the need. This common and deadly health crisis has placed an immense strain on victims and healthcare systems alike.
Tele-Stroke as a Solution
To reduce the impact, tele-stroke, a type of telemedicine, has emerged as a sustainable approach to treating stroke patients. It has proved to offer timely and efficient care while reducing the burden on the in-person neurologist.
What is Tele-Stroke?
Tele-stroke is a specialized application of telemedicine that focuses on the remote diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. It virtually connects neurologists with patients in different locations, enabling real-time consultations and decision-making.
Why is Teles-Stroke Important?
The effectiveness of stroke treatment heavily depends on the speed of intervention, often called the “golden hour.” Tele-stroke bridges the gap between stroke specialists and patients in underserved or understaffed areas, ensuring rapid and effective treatment during an episode and offering insights for the post-stroke care plan.
Benefits of Hybrid Stroke Care
- Improved Patient Outcomes – Regarding stroke care, “Time-is-Brain.” Any delay has severe repercussions. Hybrid stroke care reduces diagnostic times and integrates care pathways for improved care continuity. Several recent studies have concluded that stroke care produces the same, if not better, clinical outcomes than traditional on-site care. There is also growing evidence that telemedicine is effectively improves the rate and timeliness of tPA administration, the go-to medicine to thin the blood and stop strokes. With increased staff support, patients see better outcomes, as well as:
- Faster Diagnosis and Treatment: With telemedicine, hospitals can utilize neurologists working remotely to assess patients experiencing stroke symptoms. A swift diagnosis is crucial because the treatment for strokes is time-sensitive. Using telemedicine, specialists can evaluate patients, review brain imaging and advise life-saving medication administration.
- Increased Continuity of Care: Telemedicine helps integrate various aspects of stroke care by connecting emergency medical services, hospital ICUs, surgery, cardiac catheterization laboratory and rehabilitation services within the hospital system. This integration ensures a smooth transition for patients through the different stages of stroke care.
- Cost-Effective Care – Rural hospitals are struggling to combat physician shortages. Larger hospitals aren’t immune to staffing problems either, often leading to expensive and unsuitable solutions such as locum tenens. Hospitals looking for a permanent route can expect today’s cardiologist recruiting costs to be two to three times the annual salary of the physician who left, potentially ranging almost $1 million. Tele-Stroke services can step in as a hybrid alternative. These physicians can be employed part-time, full-time or as surge protection, helping fill the need in any size hospital system at a customized rate. Hospitals can also expect to connect with the same physicians every time using Eagle Telemedicine’s ‘pod’ model.
- Reduce Transfer Costs – Tele-Stroke services offer other economic benefits besides supporting on-ground staff through increased personnel. The added specialty lowers healthcare costs by reducing the need for patient transfers and enabling local hospitals to manage stroke cases more effectively. For instance, transporting a critically ill patient can range from $2,500 to $25,000 per transfer, depending on the distance, the level of care required during the transport and the indirect costs of pulling staff away from other critical duties. These fees apply solely to the transfer process. The potential revenue associated with cardiac services can easily reach the millions, depending on tests, procedures, and even potential transplants involved. Hospitals can save on resources and services by keeping patients in-house and continuing billing through the same channels, depending on a few variables. The hybrid model offers even more opportunities to save by eradicating temporary staffing costs and more. Learn more about hospital savings with telemedicine or learn about billing with telemedicine.
- Enhanced Access to Expertise – One of the most significant advantages of adding a Tele-stroke specialist, or Teleneurologist, is bringing expert care to areas where specialist care was previously unavailable. This equitable access to healthcare is a significant step forward in reducing health disparities. Telemedicine offers hospitals enhanced access to specialties while increasing patient access to face time with physicians. Through Eagle Telemedicine’s Tele-Neurologist and Tele-Stroke services, hospitals can access support reviewing and analyzing EEGs and other interpretation services, oversee discharge visits and provide consults, clinic, emergent neuro, initial, follow-up, routine and MD-to-MD services; all supporting enhanced access and experience.
The continuous evolution of technology and medicine offers a solution to the increasing need for emergency neurologists and stroke specialists. With the added specialty in your healthcare system’s arsenal, your new hybrid healthcare model will save lives while reducing the burden of strokes on the victims and healthcare systems alike. Contact us today to learn how Tele-Stroke or Tele-Neurology can benefit your hospital system.
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