The study, published in Telemedicine and e-Health, reviewed stroke care data from the stroke alert database of Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix and compared 98 subjects who received care telepresence with 98 subjects who received usual stroke alert care.
They found the average time from stroke alert activation to delivering intravenous thrombolytic treatment was 8.6 minutes longer for patients in the telemedicine group than in the standard group. Additionally, for acute ischemic stroke patients, the average time duration was 18 minutes longer for those in the telemedicine group than in the standard group.
Researchers did note the safety outcomes between the two study groups were not significantly different.
They concluded that safety outcomes of telestroke services were “excellent,” but telestroke assessments also took longer. Researchers suggested telestroke may be preferred in situations when a vascular neurologist is not available for on-site care.
More articles on telemedicine:
Washington state introduces bill to reimburse patients for telemedicine services
Telemedicine helps revive rural Arizona hospital
DuPage Medical Group implements telemedicine platform
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