Telemedicine and Stroke Care

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

“Telemedicine can have a significant impact on acute stroke care by enabling timely intervention in an ambulance before a patient reaches the hospital. However, limited research has been conducted on understanding and supporting team communication during the care delivery process for telemedicine-enabled stroke care in an ambulance,” according to the National Library of Medicine.

That said, a study was conducted using video recordings of 13 simulated stroke telemedicine consults conducted in an ambulance to document the tasks, communication events, and flow disruptions during the telemedicine-enabled stroke care delivery process. Most of the interactions during the telemedicine-enabled stroke events involved verbal communication (82%). The neurologist, patients, and paramedic were almost equally involved during the event, though the neurologist initiated 48% of all verbal interactions.

“Successful telemedicine-enabled stroke care involves supporting both verbal and nonverbal communication among all team members using video and audio systems to provide effective coverage of the patient for the clinicians.” Remember, stroke events require immediate, emergency care. We have the tools, let’s use them and remember the SMILE. If you are suspecting a stroke, ask the patient to smile really big. This simple screening tool is very telling!

Stay well and stay tuned!

Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine