Aurora-based University of Colorado Health is caring for stroke victims even before they arrive at the hospital for treatment.
Some of UCHealth's ambulances are equipped with the Epic EHR system and a CT scanner. The team in the ambulance can even connect to one of UCHealth's neurologists via a two-way video system. The team will have instant access to the patient's CT scan and lab results.
"Nationwide, less than 1.7 percent of patients who have [a] stroke are treated within 60 minutes of symptom onset," said William Jones, MD, medical director for UCHealth's mobile stroke treatment unit. "Early data from the mobile stroke treatment unit shows our percentage is closer to around 40 percent."