Impact of telemedicine on access to acute stroke care in the state of Texas

BACKGROUND: To examine the impact of telemedicine (TM) on access to acute stroke care and expertise in the state of Texas. METHODS: Texas hospitals were surveyed using a standard questionnaire and categorized as: (1) stand-alone Primary Stroke Centers (PSC) not using TM for acute stroke care, (2) PSC using TM for acute stroke care, (3) non-PSC hospitals using TM for acute stroke care, or (4) non-PSC hospitals not using TM for acute stroke care. Population data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Neilson Claritas Demographic Estimation Program. Access within 60 min to a designated facility was calculated at the block group level. RESULTS: Over 75% of Texans had 60-min access to a stand-alone PSC. Including PSC using TM increased access by 6.5%. Adding non-PSC that use TM for acute stroke care provided 60-min access for an additional 2% of Texans, leaving 16% of Texans without 60-min access to acute stroke care. Approximately 62% of Texans had 60-min access to more than one type of facility that provided acute stroke care. CONCLUSION: The use of TM in the state of Texas brought 60-min access to >2 million Texans who otherwise would not have had access to acute stroke expertise. Our findings demonstrate that using TM for acute stroke has the ability to provide neurologically underserved areas access to acute stroke care.