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Pestka DL, Boes S, Ramezani S, Peters M, Usher MG, Koopmeiners JS, Beebe TJ, Melton GB, Streib CD. Implementing Telestroke in the Inpatient Setting: Identifying Factors for Success. Stroke 2024; 55:1517-1524. [PMID: 38639090 DOI: 10.1161/strokeaha.123.046024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Inpatient telestroke programs have emerged as a solution to provide timely stroke care in underserved areas, but their successful implementation and factors influencing their effectiveness remain underexplored. This study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the perspectives of inpatient clinicians located at spoke hospitals participating in a newly established inpatient telestroke program to identify implementation barriers and facilitators. METHODS This was a formative evaluation relying on semistructured qualitative interviews with 16 inpatient providers (physicians and nurse practitioners) at 5 spoke sites of a hub-and-spoke inpatient telestroke program. The Integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework guided data analysis, focusing on the innovation, recipients, context, and facilitation aspects of implementation. Interviews were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. RESULTS Fifteen themes were identified in the data and mapped to the Integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework. Themes related to the innovation (the telestroke program) included easy access to stroke specialists, the benefits of limiting patient transfers, concerns about duplicating tests, and challenges of timing inpatient telestroke visits and notes to align with discharge workflow. Themes pertaining to recipients (care team members and patients) were communication gaps between teams, concern about the supervision of inpatient telestroke advanced practice providers and challenges with nurse empowerment. With regard to the context (hospital and system factors), providers highlighted familiarity with telehealth technologies as a facilitator to implementing inpatient telestroke, yet highlighted resource limitations in smaller facilities. Facilitation (program implementation) was recognized as crucial for education, standardization, and buy-in. CONCLUSIONS Understanding barriers and facilitators to implementation is crucial to determining where programmatic changes may need to be made to ensure the success and sustainment of inpatient telestroke services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah L Pestka
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
| | - Samuel Boes
- Department of Neurology (S.B., S.R., C.D.S.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
| | - Solmaz Ramezani
- Department of Neurology (S.B., S.R., C.D.S.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
| | - Maya Peters
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
| | - Michael G Usher
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
| | - Joseph S Koopmeiners
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
- Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, School of Public Health (J.S.K.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
| | - Timothy J Beebe
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
- Division of Health Policy Management, School of Public Health (T.J.B.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
| | - Genevieve B Melton
- Center for Learning Health System Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (D.L.P., M.P., M.G.U., J.S.K., T.J.B., G.B.M.)
- Department of Surgery (G.B.M.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Institute for Health Informatics (G.B.M.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
| | - Christopher D Streib
- Department of Neurology (S.B., S.R., C.D.S.), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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Kim J, Olaiya MT, De Silva DA, Norrving B, Bosch J, De Sousa DA, Christensen HK, Ranta A, Donnan GA, Feigin V, Martins S, Schwamm LH, Werring DJ, Howard G, Owolabi M, Pandian J, Mikulik R, Thayabaranathan T, Cadilhac DA. Global stroke statistics 2023: Availability of reperfusion services around the world. Int J Stroke 2024; 19:253-270. [PMID: 37853529 PMCID: PMC10903148 DOI: 10.1177/17474930231210448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disparities in the availability of reperfusion services for acute ischemic stroke are considerable globally and require urgent attention. Contemporary data on the availability of reperfusion services in different countries are used to provide the necessary evidence to prioritize where access to acute stroke treatment is needed. AIMS To provide a snapshot of published literature on the provision of reperfusion services globally, including when facilitated by telemedicine or mobile stroke unit services. METHODS We searched PubMed to identify original articles, published up to January 2023 for the most recent, representative, and relevant patient-level data for each country. Keywords included thrombolysis, endovascular thrombectomy and telemedicine. We also screened reference lists of review articles, citation history of articles, and the gray literature. The information is provided as a narrative summary. RESULTS Of 11,222 potentially eligible articles retrieved, 148 were included for review following de-duplications and full-text review. Data were also obtained from national stroke clinical registry reports, Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) and PRE-hospital Stroke Treatment Organization (PRESTO) repositories, and other national sources. Overall, we found evidence of the provision of intravenous thrombolysis services in 70 countries (63% high-income countries (HICs)) and endovascular thrombectomy services in 33 countries (68% HICs), corresponding to far less than half of the countries in the world. Recent data (from 2019 or later) were lacking for 35 of 67 countries with known year of data (52%). We found published data on 74 different stroke telemedicine programs (93% in HICs) and 14 active mobile stroke unit pre-hospital ambulance services (80% in HICs) around the world. CONCLUSION Despite remarkable advancements in reperfusion therapies for stroke, it is evident from available patient-level data that their availability remains unevenly distributed globally. Contemporary published data on availability of reperfusion services remain scarce, even in HICs, thereby making it difficult to reliably ascertain current gaps in the provision of this vital acute stroke treatment around the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joosup Kim
- Stroke and Ageing Research, Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Stroke Theme, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
| | - Muideen T Olaiya
- Stroke and Ageing Research, Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Deidre A De Silva
- Department of Neurology, Singapore General Hospital Campus, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
| | - Bo Norrving
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Neurology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Jackie Bosch
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Diana A De Sousa
- Department of Neurosciences (Neurology), Hospital de Santa Maria, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Hanne K Christensen
- Department of Neurology, University of Copenhagen and Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Ranta
- Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Geoffrey A Donnan
- Melbourne Brain Centre, The University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Valery Feigin
- National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Sheila Martins
- Neurology Department, Hospital Moinhos de Vento, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - David J Werring
- Stroke Research Centre, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - George Howard
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Mayowa Owolabi
- Center for Genomic and Precision Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Jeyaraj Pandian
- Department of Neurology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India
| | - Robert Mikulik
- Health Management Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
- Neurology Department, Bata Hospital, Zlin, Czech Republic
| | - Tharshanah Thayabaranathan
- Stroke and Ageing Research, Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Dominique A Cadilhac
- Stroke and Ageing Research, Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Stroke Theme, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
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Jun-O’Connell AH, Sivakumar S, Henninger N, Silver B, Trivedi M, Ghasemi M, Lalla RR, Kobayashi KJ. Outcomes of Telestroke Inter-Hospital Transfers Among Intervention and Non-Intervention Patients. J Clin Med Res 2023; 15:292-299. [PMID: 37434777 PMCID: PMC10332878 DOI: 10.14740/jocmr4945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Telestroke is an established telemedicine method of delivering emergency stroke care. However, not all neurological patients utilizing telestroke service require emergency interventions or transfer to a comprehensive stroke center. To develop an understanding of the appropriateness of inter-hospital neurological transfers utilizing the telemedicine, our study aimed to assess the differences in outcomes of inter-hospital transfers utilizing the service in relation to the need for neurological interventions. Methods The pragmatic, retrospective analysis included 181 consecutive patients, who were emergently transferred from telestroke-affiliated regional medical centers between October 3, 2021, and May 3, 2022. In this exploratory study investigating the outcomes of telestroke-referred patients, patients receiving interventions were compared to those that did not following transfer to our tertiary center. Neurological interventions included mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and/or tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), craniectomy, electroencephalography (EEG), or external ventricular drain (EVD). Transfer mortality rate, discharge functional status defined by modified Rankin scale (mRS), neurological status defined by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), 30-day unpreventable readmission rate, 90-day clinical major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and 90-day mRS, and NIHSS were studied. We used χ2 or Fisher exact tests to evaluate the association between the intervention and categorical or dichotomous variables. Continuous or ordinal measures were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. All tests of statistical significance were considered to be significant at P < 0.05. Results Among the 181 transferred patients, 114 (63%) received neuro-intervention and 67 (37%) did not. The death rate during the index admission was not statistically significant between the intervention and non-intervention groups (P = 0.196). The discharge NIHSS and mRS were worse in the intervention compared to the non-intervention (P < 0.05 each, respectively). The 90-day mortality and cardiovascular event rates were similar between intervention and non-intervention groups (P > 0.05 each, respectively). The 30-day readmission rates were also similar between the two groups (14% intervention vs. 13.4% non-intervention, P = 0.910). The 90-day mRS were not significantly different between intervention and non-intervention groups (median 3 (IQR: 1 - 6) vs. 2 (IQR: 0 - 6), P = 0.109). However, 90-day NIHSS was worse in the intervention compared to non-intervention group (median 2 (IQR: 0 - 11) vs. 0 (IQR: 0 - 3), P = 0.004). Conclusions Telestroke is a valuable resource that expedites emergent neurological care via referral to a stroke center. However, not all transferred patients benefit from the transfer process. Future multicenter studies are warranted to study the effects or appropriateness of telestroke networks, and to better understand the patient characteristics, resources allocation, and transferring institutions to improve telestroke care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adalia H. Jun-O’Connell
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Shravan Sivakumar
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Nils Henninger
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Brian Silver
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Meghna Trivedi
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Mehdi Ghasemi
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Rakhee R. Lalla
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Kimiyoshi J. Kobayashi
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
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Majersik JJ, Wong KH, O'Donnell SM, Johnson J, Garcia-Esperon C, Hamilton BJ, Tekiela P, Ledyard HK, Taillac P. Telestroke value through the eyes of emergency medicine providers: A counterfactual analysis. Heliyon 2023; 9:e14767. [PMID: 37089373 PMCID: PMC10119505 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Emergency Medicine (EM) provider experiences consulting telestroke (TS) are poorly studied. In this qualitative study, we aimed to determine how TS changes patient management and to measure TS effects on EM provider confidence with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treatment. Materials and methods We designed a survey for EM providers querying perceptions of TS value, confidence with treating AIS, and counterfactuals regarding what EM providers would have done without TS. Eligible EM providers participated in an audio-visual TS consult within a 6-state TS network between 11/2016-11/2017. Results We received 48 surveys (response rate 43%). The most common reason (71%) for using TS was tPA eligibility expert opinion. Most EM providers (94%) thought the patient/family were satisfied with TS and none felt their medical knowledge was doubted because of using TS. EM providers had high confidence in diagnosing AIS (95%) and tPA decision-making (86%), but not in determining thrombectomy eligibility (10%). Among EM providers who administered tPA, 85% said tPA would not have been given without TS consultation. TS consultation changed patient diagnosis in 60% of all patients and treatment plans in 56% of non-stroke patients. Most EM providers (86%) had increased confidence in their knowledge of future stroke patient management. Nearly all TS consults (93%) resulted in EM providers being more likely to use TS again. Conclusions TS consult frequently results in both patient management change and increased EM knowledge of stroke management with increased likelihood of repeat usage. Discomfort in determining eligibility for thrombectomy points to educational opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Juhl Majersik
- Neurology, University of Utah, United States
- Corresponding author. Third Floor Stroke Center, University of Utah, 175 N Medical Center Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States.
| | - Ka-Ho Wong
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, United States
| | | | | | | | | | - Piotr Tekiela
- Division of Vascular Neurology, Department of Neurology, University of Utah, United States
| | - Holly K. Ledyard
- Neurology and Emergency Medicine, University of Utah, United States
| | - Peter Taillac
- Emergency Medicine, University of Utah, United States
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Harahsheh E, English SW, Hrdlicka CM, Demaerschalk B. Telestroke’s Role Through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Curr Treat Options Neurol 2022; 24:589-603. [PMID: 35999901 PMCID: PMC9388966 DOI: 10.1007/s11940-022-00737-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Purpose of review The goal of this paper is to discuss the role and utilization of telestroke services through the COVID-19 pandemic and to suggest future directions to sustain and increase patients’ access to stroke expertise. Recent findings Telestroke is an innovative and effective tool that has been shown to improve access, quality of care, and outcomes of patients with acute stroke syndromes in resource-limited areas for the last two decades. The COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant challenge and strained healthcare systems worldwide, but it created novel and unique opportunities to expand and increase the utilization of telehealth and telestroke services to deliver personalized healthcare across the continuum of stroke care outside of traditional settings. This rapid and widespread increase in telestroke use was facilitated by the removal of many legislative and regulatory barriers which have limited patients’ access to stroke expertise for many years. Summary As the public health emergency ends, there exists a unique opportunity to optimize and expand upon the pandemic-related rapid growth of telestroke care. Optimal utilization of telehealth and telestroke services will depend on maintaining and improving required infrastructure, laws, and regulations, particularly those governing reimbursement and licensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehab Harahsheh
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 13400 East Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 USA
| | | | - Courtney M. Hrdlicka
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 13400 East Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 USA
| | - Bart Demaerschalk
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 13400 East Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 USA
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De Los Rios La Rosa F. Connecting Telestroke With Transfers: Do We Have a Clear Picture? Neurology 2022; 98:651-652. [PMID: 35228331 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000200170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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