Stroke care comes to local hospitals

From TownOnline.com (Harvard Post):

A collaborative effort among UMass Memorial Medical Center, Brain Saving Technologies of Wellesley Hills and five community hospitals is bringing the highest level of stroke care to emergency room patients without them having to travel far from home. Clinton Hospital is one of five hospitals now designated as primary stroke services centers by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. This designation is made possible by the sharing of physicians and technology via an advanced digital video medicine service coordinated by BST.

The video monitoring system, also called a telemedicine system, enables on-call neurologists with expertise in stroke diagnosis and management at UMass Memorial and BST to examine and talk to an emergency patient or his family as well as the doctor in real time at the community hospital. A mobile unit in the community hospital's emergency department is wheeled bedside so that the doctors can see the patient and make a diagnosis.

Both the emergency room physician and neurologist also can view CT and MRI scans, enabling them to work collaboratively throughout the patient care process. Once a diagnosis is made, the doctors decide on the most effective treatment plan hoping to lessen the symptoms and outcomes of the stroke, quickly. UMass Memorial doctors assist in assessment, diagnosis and treatment recommendations.