Does Centralizing Acute Stroke Care Lead to Better Quality and Outcomes?

When acute stroke care is provided by organized stroke units with specialized teams of providers, better care quality and outcomes are evident, especially among centers with higher patient volumes. Would consolidating existing acute stroke care into fewer but more-specialized stroke units with higher volumes achieve similar results? Acute stroke care for the central Denmark region underwent precisely such a reorganization in 2012. Acute stroke care for 1.3 million people was centralized at two designated stroke units; stroke units at four other hospitals closed, including three that had been nonspecialized units staffed by internists. The two designated centers also established a daily outpatient clinic for patients with suspected minor str…