Telestroke Process at a Community Hospital: A Quality Improvement Project

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Quality Improvement
• Health Services Research

Background:

• An Acute Stroke Ready community hospital enhanced its stroke process utilizing telestroke services.
• Identified delays in door to telestroke notification and neurologist assessment prompted a quality improvement initiative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe updates to the stroke process.
• To compare pre- and post-intervention data on nurse-driven elements: telestroke notification and neurologist assessment.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary team reviewed quality data to identify improvement areas.
• Implemented a new process featuring e-alert notification and optimized telestroke cart storage.
• Collected 7 months of pre- and post-intervention data over a 14-month study period.

Main Results:

• Significant reductions observed in door to telestroke notification times.
• Significant reductions observed in door to neurologist assessment times.
• Strong correlation found between telestroke notification and neurologist assessment.

Conclusions:

• The updated stroke process significantly improved nurse-driven elements.
• Effective implementation of e-alert and telestroke collaboration was demonstrated.
• The improvements enhance stroke care delivery in rural communities served by Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals.