SOUTH KINGSTOWN – South County Hospital recently introduced a new technology tool to better assist potential stroke victims.
The tool is known as teleneurology and comes via Specialists On Call, the largest provider in the United States of teleneurology care. The system allows a specialist to consult with a patient from a remote location. When the emergency department of another department at the hospital request a neurology consult, a neurologist is available from Specialists on Call through a two-way video connection akin to Skype.
A high-definition camera is put in front of the patient and, aided by the South County staff, the remote physician conducts a history and exam. The hospital staff members electronically send labs and any scan results to the consulting neurologist, who in turn sends a completed consult to the emergency room or appropriate floor by fax.
“We have a fine neurologist on staff – Dr. Peter Bellafiore,” said Russell Corcoran, chief medical officer at South County. We owe him our profound thanks for many years of 24/7 service, including taking a satellite phone on vacation last year. With the arrival of [teleneurology], he is now getting a well-deserved vacation without the threat of interruption.”
Every 40 seconds someone in the United States suffers a stroke; strokes are the fourth leading cause of death and the number one cause of disability in the country.
