How Teleneurology Works for Rural Hospitals
In rural communities and suburban areas, it is common practice for patients to travel for hours to seek medical consultation, regular checkups, or emergency treatment. In severe cases like stroke, when every passing second counts, many patients lose their lives for lack of timely treatment. This is where telehealth or telemedicine services prove to be life-saving for thousands of people living in remote areas. Teleneurology for rural areas are bridging the gaps between neurologists in major cities and rural patients by using telecommunication.
Related: How Telehealth can be used for Stroke Patients?
The death ratio is prevalent among stroke patients living in rural or far areas. People have minimal access to neurology specialists, treatment equipment, or medicare centers. Under such circumstances, teleneurology has brought significant changes to the field of medicare for these geographically underserved places. Teleneurology has enabled neurologists from big cities to contact neurology patients suffering from acute stroke, dementia, migraine, epilepsy, and many others.
You must consider the teleneurology services that work for rural hospitals with no doctors and the latest equipment. Let’s explore and see how teleneurology works and what its benefits are.
Teleneurology Services for Rural Areas
In a report, the American Stroke Association mentioned that among other fatal diseases, a stroke attack has proven to be the fifth highest cause of death. Neurological disorders are increasing in America with every passing day. Among adults, stroke is a significant cause of disability. This increasing ratio has given more rise to teleneurology. After COVID-19, the massive use of telemedicine led neurologists to expand their service via telecommunication. In this regard, many service providers offer plans and on-site systems to cater to patients suffering from a stroke in rural areas.
How Teleneurology Works for Rural Hospitals
Teleneurology allows patients to connect to their doctors for monthly consultations, changes in prescriptions, and therapeutic sessions. In teleneurology, doctors and patients are not in the same place.
Let’s imagine a neurology specialist is sitting in his hospital in a metropolitan city. Far from the doctors in a rural hospital, a patient with a stroke attack comes. This is an emergency case and needs quick diagnosis and treatment. The rural hospital lacks the latest equipment and specialists on-site. How would they cater to the patient?
Under such settings, rural areas have teleneurology service providers. They are well-familiar with such cases and have outsourced help already. The doctors and paramedics in rural hospitals notify the doctors using teleneurology software and devices. Immediately, a neurology specialist appears on the screen and starts assisting the patient. They ask specific questions from patients, families, and local doctors.
Related: Reimbursement Process For TeleStroke
Afterward, they tend to diagnose the problem by staying on board. Once they complete the evaluation, neurologists recommend local doctors to start a CT scan or other required treatment. In the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment process, the specialist doctors sitting far away stay in touch with patients and local hospitals.
In case of acute stroke or other minor neurological problems, doctors carry out treatment by using teleneurology. However, patients are advised to move to bigger hospitals with the latest equipment after the initial treatment of chronic diseases or stroke attacks.
Related: Advantages And Limitations Of Teleneurology
However, mobile stroke units do not let stroke patients travel without observation. These ambulances are also well-equipped; neurologists stay on board via telehealth software and get updates about patients’ conditions. This whole teleneurology service and process has significantly reduced the death ratio by providing timely diagnosis and treatment to patients in suburban and rural locations.
Benefits of Teleneurology
Teleneurology has brought a wide range of advantages not only for remote patients but also for hospitals, service providers, and neurologists. Let’s see how:
- Teleneurologists provide medical assistance to most patients living in rural, remote, restricted, or suburban areas.
- With teleneurology, doctors and neurologists can remotely monitor patients.
- Teleneurologists come on board via telecommunication, observe patients’ conditions, diagnose diseases, evaluate problems, and recommend immediate treatments (e.g., CT scans) to local doctors and hospitals.
- Adult patients who face difficulty in traveling can benefit from teleneurology.
- Neurology patients can seek consultation, prescription, and treatment from home.
- Using teleneurology, doctors and paramedics in remote areas can provide treatment to neurology patients.
- In cases of chronic neurological attacks or diseases, mobile neurology units take patients to big hospitals for treatments while staying connected to teleneurologists.
- Teleneurology reduces the crowding of hospitals and makes room for patients with chronic diseases.
- Remote patient monitoring also minimizes patients’ chances of catching a viral infection or germs from hospitals by providing home-based consultations and medications.
In online neurological care, Teleneurology services by NeuroX are trusted by hundreds of patients and their families. We have infused our expert neurology panel with our telemedicine service to help people living in rural areas or other restricted locations. With an aim to provide teleneurology in remote locations, our primary focus is to deliver teleneurology services to patients of acute stroke, chronic care, post-treatment care, or other acute neurological care. In addition, our neurologists are on-board 24/7 to cater to emergency patients.