Teleneurology is an evolving branch of telemedicine that provides access to neurological care that might otherwise not be available. On the North Fork of Long Island, at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital (SBELIH), it's proving to be a game changer.
Whether an SBELIH patient is in the Emergency Department or admitted onto the hospital's inpatient medical unit, their attending physician can immediately arrange a specialist consultation with a board-certified neurologist from Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) to evaluate a patient and make an accurate diagnosis in real time. Using a smart phone or tablet and an audio visual app, the connection to the bedside is both direct and seamless. The consultations are appropriately documented. All questions posed by the doctors, patient or patient's family are addressed while the patient is connected to the Stony Brook specialists through the video link. Then a treatment plan is developed. Based on the vitals and other information provided to the neurologist and their own interaction with the patient, the neurologist might determine that further tests are needed, such as an MRI or EEG.
The speed, privacy, accuracy and convenience of Stony Brook Teleneurology means that in an emergency, patients may not need to be transported from the Emergency Department for neurologic evaluations, allowing the patient to receive medical services in their own community.
Some of the neurological conditions and diseases that Stony Brook Teleneurology can be used to diagnose and treat include: headache, Bell’s palsy, vertigo, and Lyme disease.
Contact: jamie.friede@stonybrookmedicine.edu