Telemedicine impact on post-stroke outpatient follow-up in an academic healthcare network
Stroke
; 53(SUPPL 1), 2022.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-1723995
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The expansion of telemedicine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced outpatient medical care. The objective of our study was to determine the impact of telemedicine on post-acute stroke clinic follow-up.Methods:
With this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the impact of telemedicine in Emory Healthcare, an academic healthcare system of comprehensive (CSC) and primary stroke centers (PSC) in Atlanta, Georgia, on post-hospital stroke clinic follow-up. We compared the frequency of successful post-hospitalization follow-up in a centralized subspecialty stroke clinic among patients hospitalized before the local COVID-19 pandemic (January 1- February 28, 2020), during (March 1- April 30, 2020) and after telemedicine implementation (May 1- December 31, 2020). A comparison was made across network hospitals less than 1 mile (CSC) and 25 miles (PSC25) from the specialty stroke clinic.Results:
Of the 553 ischemic stroke patients [median age 68 years (IQR 58-79), median NIHSS 4 (IQR 1-8)] discharged home or to a rehab facility during the study period, 241 (43.6%) had follow-up in the Emory Stroke Clinic (CSC=48%, PSC25=23%). Overall, 90-day follow-up increased from 31% before to 48% after telemedicine implementation. Similarly, telemedicine appointments increased from 19% to 72% of the follow-up visits. The increase in follow-up visits was modest among CSC patients, from 41% to 51% (p=0.16), relative to the increase among PSC25 patients (5.3% to 31%, p=0.002).Conclusions:
Telemedicine implementation at an academic healthcare network successfully increased post-stroke discharge follow-up in a centralized subspecialty stroke clinic for hospitalized patients up to 25 miles from the clinic site. However, more work is required to facilitate follow up in the majority of patients.
aged; cerebrovascular accident; cohort analysis; conference abstract; controlled study; coronavirus disease 2019; female; follow up; health care system; hospital patient; hospitalization; human; ischemic stroke; major clinical study; male; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; outpatient; pandemic; retrospective study; stroke patient; telemedicine
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Stroke
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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