Source: American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) 05/2009
No, this will not help your golf game. But it may save your life. Remember Night Time Radiology? Yeah, it’s like that. High quality videoconferencing systems have been accepted as, “[A]n effective avenue to eliminate disparities in access to acute stroke and TIA (transient ischemic attack or “mini stroke”) care, erasing the inequities introduced by geography, income or social circumstance.” Great PR Quote, huh?
In simpler terms, not everyone has equal access to good quality medical care, particularly those who are poor or regionally isolated (think living on a mountain). Enter the video phone. “Telestroke” invloves a specialist (neurologist or neuroradiologist) and a bi-directional video and audio conferencing system to interact with a doctor at bedside for “real time” consultation and treatment recommendations. One call to a specialist who can access CT and MRI results could result in an immediate, or rapid, diagnosis of a stroke.
And when one is having a stroke, time until treatment is initiated is extremely important. Oh and the author of that great PR quote, Dr. J. Donald Easton, along with other similarly obtuse quotes, and author of the article recommending use of this technology is also a “consultant/advisor” for the companies which produce the technology.
While consider the source applies, this actually is a valuable medical technology.
posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esq.
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