What you can expect

In a stroke telemedicine consultation, an emergency medicine doctor at your regional hospital (the originating) will examine you. If your doctor suspects an acute stroke, he or she will activate the stroke telemedicine hotline at the distant hospital, which has a dedicated hotline and group paging system and stroke experts on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The distant sites on-call doctor usually responds within five minutes.

After you have a CT scan at the originating hospital, the stroke expert at the distant site performs a live, real-time consultation with video and sound — so you can see, hear and speak with the doctor. The stroke specialist may discuss your medical history and review your test results.

The stroke specialist evaluates you, works with your doctor to determine the most appropriate treatment and sends the treatment recommendation electronically to the originating hospital.