TeleStroke program is making gains for patients and
physicians
By Mikala Lindhardt
“We use the services all the time and it has been worth it,”
said Anne Anderson, the stroke coordinator at Logan Regional Hospital.
TeleStroke is a
program where hospitals can have a stroke neurologist skype-in within four
minutes to consult with physicians and patients. For Logan Regional Hospital,
the consulting specialist is usually from Intermountain Medical Center in
Murray.
“This is very highly sensitive and very digital accurate
equipment,” Anderson said. “The doctor can hear even the slightest whisper if
the patient can’t talk very loud and can even see the drool on the patient’s
mouth.”
Timing is an important factor when it comes to strokes, so
the hospital staff is setting goals to achieve using the new technology.
“It is estimated that 32,000 brain cells die every second if
they do not have adequate blood flow,” Anderson said.
With that in mind, Logan Regional’s goal with stroke victims is to reduce the time from when the patient
enters the facility to the time they are treated with clot busting medication
by 15 minutes.
In September nearly 40 patients used TeleStroke and were
diagnosed with either a stroke or a mini stroke, Anderson said.
Those patients and nurses who have used TeleStroke have seen
a difference in the confidence of the patients.
“I think the patients like it because they know they are
getting a really specialized opinion on their condition and they are able to
talk with the doctors face-to-face” said Tana Loan, a registered nurse who has experience
with TeleStroke. “Patients have responded really well.”
The positive response has brought the topic of expansion to
the stroke department. While there are
not yet details of expansion, “it’s in the works and we hope to get a clinic
where we can use the technology for follow-up appointments with patients where
they can talk to the specialist and don’t have to travel,” Anderson said.
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