Telemedicine May Revolutionize Rehab

Telemedicine May Revolutionize Rehab
August 20, 2008

Stroke patients who live outside of major urban cities can benefit from physicians’ use of telemedicine programs as opposed to traditional telephone consultations, according to research at the University of California San Diego Medical Center appearing in the August 2, 2008 online edition of Lancet Neurology. (http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/18338)
STRokE DOC transports physicians via computer to a stroke patient's bedside using video, audio and Internet technology. Using the new technology, physicians can make better treatment decisions than if they performed telephone consultations. For example, those who used STRokE DOC made correct treatment decisions 98 percent of the time, as compared to an 82 percent correct decision treatment rate for telephone consultations. . The reasons are easy to understand. The STRokE DOC technology gives the physician real-time visual and audio access to the stroke patient, medical team and medical data at the remote site. Meanwhile, patients and their families can see, hear, and communicate with the physician.
Of course, the University of California San Diego Medical Center isn’t alone in using telemedicine technology for stroke therapy. The New Haven Register reports that Yale-New Haven physicians are now examining stroke patients at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut.
Yale New Haven took the lead in developing the state’s first telemedicine program called the Stroke Network, which allows physicians and other care professionals to see and speak with patients and with each other. Staff members can also transfer diagnostic images such as X-rays and CT scans using the system.
Joseph L. Schindler, clinical director of the Yale-New Haven Stroke Center, says that because initial stroke diagnoses are wrong 30 to 50 percent of the time, physicians must view patients’ CT scans to find tumors or swelling.
And what of the future? “The quality of telemedicine is likely to improve and become more acceptable to patients and physicians,” predicts Thomas Nesbitt, MD, writing in iHealthBeat (http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/22/Does-Telemedicine-Have-a-Role-in-TechnologyEnabled-Health-Care-Reform.aspx?topicID=60).

The “Holy Grail in healthcare reform” must combine cost reductions with improved access, quality and patient safety, writes Dr. Nesbitt. Telemedicine has emerged as one component of a .” technology-enabled health care system” featuring electronic health records, medical informatics and decision support.

Stay posted for more telemedicine developments and how technologies will transform rehab. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in reading up on telemedicine in rehab, try these resources:

Gingrich, Center for Health Transformation Push Value of Telemedicine
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8803


Telemedicine Leads to Better Stroke Treatment Decisions
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/543158/

Telemedicine Improves Rural Stroke Care
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Strokes/tb/10393