Stroke telemedicine has proven extremely effective in the last several, especially in underserved areas, where a patient might not have access to a specialist in the critical hours after a stroke has occurred.

In addition to telestroke networks having demonstrated their effectiveness, the equipment necessary to put a system in place is decidedly cheaper than people expect it to be. However, there still remain some barriers to its widespread adoption, which we will discuss later in this week’s articles.

The Importance of Fast Treatment
First, let’s cover the reasons telemedicine has proven so effective in stroke treatment, and how we can expect it to benefit us as patients.

Telemedicine’s ability to help patients in rural areas receive specialized treatment from a neurologist is the main reason that telestroke networks are so effective. Recent studies have discovered that clot-busting medications such as tPA are capable of significantly reducing the changes of long-term brain damage in stroke victims, but only in the time period immediately following a stroke, which lasts about three hours.

This data highlights how important it is for patients to receive attention from a neurologist or other specialist care provider as quickly as possible following a potential stroke. Telemedicine networks set up specifically for stroke victims can significantly cut down the amount of time it takes for a patient to reach a capable care provider, because a full stroke clinic is an expensive investment for a hospital to make, and many rural areas in the US can’t afford have a qualified neurologist on staff. The increased access to specialists that telemedicine provides can prove vital in reducing the tremendous long-term consequences of a stroke.

The Enhanced Design Elements
Telemedicine is also enhancing the prospects of stroke victims by making stroke care more affordable for the hospitals that strive to offer it. When a telestroke network is installed, it also has some very specific features that cut down on the cost of maintaining the system, and it also allows for an efficient, profitable endeavor on the developer’s behalf.

A telestroke network is based around a “hub,” which hires specialists to answer calls from the “spokes,” which are hospitals and clinics. With such a hub in place, any hospital that lacks a neurologist can become a spoke for a fraction of the cost of an in-house neurologist. The hub, in turn, makes money and increases efficiency by focusing on one particular aspect of healthcare, and by reaching many different hospitals, allowing for income to flow in from a wider variety of sources.

Although it can be tough to face the realities of healthcare as a business, those realities do exist. It’s hopeful, however, that with increased adoption of technology, those business realities will allow increasingly effective care for stroke victims, at an increasingly lower cost.