Telestroke

Telestroke combines physician expertise with audio, video and information-sharing technology to diagnose and treat acute stroke patients who may be hundreds or thousands of kilometres away. When fully implemented, the benefits will be significant:

  • Patients living in rural communities with access to specific diagnostic tests will have the same access to expert medical diagnosis and treatment as patients living in larger cities.
  • Telestroke will provide comprehensive and coordinated acute stroke care across the province, 24 hours a day and seven days a week in the long term.
  • More patients will qualify for Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA), a revolutionary clot-busting drug that can only be administered within 4.5 hours of the onset of stroke symptoms.
  • Emergency room physicians in smaller hospitals can work with and learn from neurologists and other stroke specialists.
  • Patient transfers will be reduced.

Telestroke documents

In December 2010, the BC Stroke Strategy tabled the Provincial Stroke Action Plan with the BC Ministry of Health Services and regional Health Authorities for decision around governance, funding and implementation. The Action Plan recommends a phased expansion of Telestroke across British Columbia.

To review the plan for the rollout of telestroke across BC, download the Provincial Telestroke Implementation Plan Phase 2 (December 2010).

The BCSS also developed an Implementation and Operations Manual to support referring sites implementing a Telestroke service.

For a comparison of Telestroke services across Canada as of December 2010, click here.

Telestroke prototypes

Under the BC Stroke Strategy, two prototype Telestroke projects have been completed. Both Health Authorities continue to provide these Telestroke services.

BC's Telestroke Prototype was evaluated in July, 2010. To download the Evaluation Report and background materials, visit the Project Evaluation page of this website.

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