Improved Processes and Outcomes for Stroke Patients at Hospitals with Telestroke Capacity

Telestroke consultations make use of real-time videoconferencing to connect remote stroke specialists to the bedside, thereby extending the capacity of hospitals that may not otherwise have access to around-the-clock stroke expertise. Yet the precise effects of telestroke capacity on key process and outcome measures for stroke patients are unclear. Researchers have now used Medicare claims data from 2008 to 2017 to identify 76,636 patients with acute stroke treated at 643 hospitals with telestroke capacity. They compared processes and outcomes for this cohort to those of an equal number of acute stroke patients matched based on prespecified hospital and patient characteristics but treated at control hospitals without telestroke capacity.

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