Bridging the Urban and Regional Divide in Stroke Care (BUILDS): A Novel Telestroke Unit Service.
Lauren Arthurson, Suzanne Harrison, Benjamin Clissold and 4 others
PMID 40530763WHAT IT FOUND
Telestroke unit care was feasible and acceptable at a regional hospital: specialists reviewed admitted stroke or TIA patients within 24 hours, diagnoses were revised, and patients and staff reported comfort, learning and support.
Key findings
01All initial telestroke consultations were completed within 24 hours of admission, or within 48 to 72 hours if admission occurred on a weekend or public holiday.
02The working diagnosis was revised in 33 of 120 consultations, and medication changes occurred in 56 of 120 consultations.
03In surveys, 36 of 37 respondents felt comfortable communicating with the specialist via telehealth, and 23 of 25 staff agreed the discussion was educational.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It was a single-centre, observational quality-improvement pilot with a convenience sample, so it cannot show that the service improved patient outcomes. Pre-implementation comparison data were used for context only, not as a controlled comparison. The hospital already had an engaged executive and Stroke Coordinator before the pilot, which may limit transfer to sites without that support. Satisfaction was measured with small, self-reported surveys: 37 patient and family surveys and 25 staff surveys. Education modules were optional and under-used, and quality assurance case review meetings were infrequent.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the AVANT Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that telestroke video consultations alone improve stroke patient outcomes. The pilot bundled specialist video consultations with Stroke Coordinator support, coordinated interdisciplinary care, education and case reviews, and it was a single-centre pilot with pre-implementation data used for context only.