- Title
- Impact of an outpatient telestroke clinic on management of rural stroke patients
- Creator
- Garcia-Esperon, Carlos; Chew, Beng Lim Alvin; Minett, Fiona; Cheah, Joseph; Rutherford, Jennifer; Wilsmore, Bradley; Parsons, Mark; Levi, Christopher R.; Spratt, Neil J.
- Relation
- Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 30, Issue 3, p. 337-342
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12849
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2022
- Description
- Objective: Report on feasibility, use and effects on investigations and treatment of a neurologist-supported stroke clinic in rural Australia. Design: Data were collected prospectively for consecutive patients referred to atelehealth stroke clinic from November 2018 to August 2021. Settings, participants and interventions: Patients attended the local hospital, with a rural stroke care coordinator, and were assessed by stroke neurologist over videoconference. Main outcome measures: The following feasibility outcomes on the first appointments were analysed: (1) utility (a) change in medication, (b) request of additional investigations, (c) enrolment/offering clinical trials or d) other; (2) acceptability (attendance rate); and (3) process of care (waiting time to first appointment, distance travelled). Results: During the study period, 173 appointments were made; 125 (73.5%) were first appointments. The median age was 70 [63–79] years, and 69 patients were male. A diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack was made by the neurologist in 106 patients. A change in diagnosis was made in 23 (18.4%) patients. Of the first appointments, 102 (81.6%) resulted in at least one intervention: medication was changed in 67 (53.6%) patients, additional investigations requested in 72 (57.6%), 15 patients (12%) were referred to a clinical trial, and other interventions were made in 23 patients. The overall attendance rate of booked appointments was high. The median waiting time and distance travelled (round-trip) for a first appointment were 38 [24–53] days and 60.8 [25.6–76.6] km respectively. Conclusion: The telestroke clinic was very well attended, and it led to high volume of interventions in rural stroke patients.
- Subject
- remote regions; secondary prevention; stroke; telehealth; transient ischaemic attack; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1464407
- Identifier
- uon:46988
- Identifier
- ISSN:1038-5282
- Language
- eng
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