Introduction: Timely reperfusion in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke is critical to patient outcomes. While early interventions, pre-hospital alerts, rapid triage, and AI-based LVO detection have improved endovascular treatment (EVT) times, delays persist between imaging completion and EVT activation. Standard communication practices involve sequential phone calls or texts among providers, contributing to delays. The aim is to implement and evaluate a HIPAA-compliant real-time communication platform to streamline and simultaneously relay essential patient information between providers to reduce activation time and improve care efficiency. Methods: Key data elements required for EVT activation were identified, and a secure, HIPAA-compliant tool was created using Microsoft Teams platform for real-time simultaneous provider communication. Baseline EVT data from a prospectively maintained database between January 2024 to June 2025 were collected for scene runs and transfers from outside hospitals with repeated imaging at the comprehensive stroke center (CSC). An institutional benchmark of ≤10 minutes from imaging completion to EVT activation was established. Following comprehensive stakeholder training, the platform was integrated into the stroke workflow on January 1, 2025. Post-implementation data were collected from January to June 2025 and compared to 2024 pre-implementation pre-recorded data. Results: The final analysis included 121 patients (76 pre-implementation vs 45 in the post-implementation). Post-implementation analysis demonstrated a reduction in EVT activation times when compared to pre-implementation. For scene runs, the median time from imaging completion to activation decreased from 12.5 minutes to 9.5 minutes representing a relative reduction of 24%. Transfers from outside hospitals with repeated imaging at the CSC showed an even greater improvement, with median times reduced from 10 minutes to 5 minutes repeating a relative reduction of 50%. Conclusions: Implementation of a HIPAA-compliant, real-time communication platform significantly reduced EVT activation times for both scene runs and transfers from outside hospitals with repeated imaging at the CSC, demonstrating improved workflow efficiency and enhanced coordination among stroke care providers. These findings support the integration of secure, simultaneous communication tools into acute stroke protocols to optimize time-sensitive interventions and improve patient outcomes.
Patterson et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: