PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Telestroke cost effective for hospitals

2012-12-05
(Press-News.org) PHOENIX — Researchers have found that using telemedicine to deliver stroke care, also known as telestroke, appears to be cost-effective for rural hospitals that do not have an around-the-clock neurologist, or stroke expert, on staff. The research, published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, is intended to help hospital administrators evaluate telestroke. In telestroke care, the use of a telestroke robot allows a patient with stroke to be examined in real time by a neurology specialist elsewhere who consults via computer with an emergency room physician in the rural site. "Previous studies have demonstrated that a hub-and-spoke telestroke network is cost-effective from the societal perspective - we can assess medical services, like telemedicine, in terms of the net costs to society for each year of life gained," says neurologist Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic Telestroke Program, and co-author of the telestroke cost effectiveness study. "However, to date the costs and benefits from the perspectives of network hospitals have not been formally estimated." Contrary to a common perception that a telestroke referral network poses a substantial financial burden on hospitals, the study revealed that it is likely to save hospitals money and also improve patient outcomes by enabling patients to be discharged sooner. "The health economic results from an earlier study conducted from the societal perspective convincingly demonstrated that telestroke was cost effective compared to the usual model of care," says Dr. Demaerschalk. "It's a relatively small amount of money, comparatively, telestroke costs a couple thousand dollars more to save quality years of life — so it's a bargain really." The Circulation study estimates that compared with no network, a telestroke system of a single hub and seven spoke hospitals may result in the use of more clot-busting drugs, procedures and other stroke therapies, more stroke patients discharged home independently, and despite upfront and maintenance expenses, a greater total cost savings for the entire network of hospitals. Using data from Mayo Clinic and the Georgia Health Sciences University telestroke networks, the research model estimated that every year, compared to no telemedicine network, 45 more patients would be treated with intravenous thrombolysis and 20 more with endovascular stroke therapies – leading to 6.11 more independent patients discharged home. This represents more than $100,000 in cost savings for each of the participating rural hospitals each year, according to the study. "If the costs associated with the technology are reduced or if reimbursement opportunities increase we will recognize that this treatment method may, in fact, save even more money," Dr. Demaerschalk says. "The upfront costs associated with setting up the telestroke technology and managing the network organization are quickly offset by the financial gains that result from a higher proportion of patients receiving clot busting drugs and the reduced stroke-related disability and subsequent reduced need for rehabilitation, nursing home care and assistance at home." The results of this economic research have implications on the assignment of financial responsibility between hub and spoke hospital partners. For instance, in a network that is principally designed to aid spoke hospitals' capacity to effectively assess, treat, and admit more patients with stroke, it is the spoke hospitals which benefit economically - and it then makes sense that the spoke hospitals should contribute to financing the telestroke network system. ### The study was conducted by researchers at Mayo Clinic, Georgia Health Sciences University, Analysis Group, and was funded by Genentech, Inc. Mayo Clinic first used telemedicine technology with the stroke telemedicine program in 2007, when statistics revealed that 40 percent of residents in Arizona lacked local stroke experts. Mayo Clinic was the first medical center in Arizona to do pioneering clinical research to study telemedicine as a means of serving patients with stroke in non-urban settings, and today serves as the "hub" in a network of 12 "spoke" centers. Since the telestroke program began more than 1,500 emergency consultations for stroke between Mayo stroke neurologists and physicians at the spoke centers in Arizona have taken place. Beyond Arizona, Mayo Clinic Telestroke is represented nationally, with hub and spoke networks already in existence in Florida and in a development phase in Minnesota and Mayo Clinic Health System. About Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit MayoClinic.com or MayoClinic.org/news.

Disclosures: Authors Drs. Jeffery Switzer and Demaerschalk are consultants for Genentech, Inc. Authors L. Fan and Drs. J. Xie and E. Wu are employees of the Analysis Group, which received funding from Genentech, Inc. Author K.F. Villa is an employee of Genentech, Inc.

Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

California's N2O emissions may be nearly triple current estimates

2012-12-05
Using a new method for estimating greenhouse gases that combines atmospheric measurements with model predictions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have found that the level of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in California may be 2.5 to 3 times greater than the current inventory. At that level, total N2O emissions—which are believed to come primarily from nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural production—would account for about 8 percent of California's total greenhouse gas emissions. The findings were recently published in a ...

Rewriting personal history by inventing racist roads not taken

2012-12-05
Evanston, Ill. (December 4, 2012) – In 2008, research showed that expressing support for Barack Obama increased people's comfort in subsequently saying or doing things that might be considered racist. Researchers argued that endorsing a black political figure made people feel as if they had "non-racist credentials" that reduced their concern about subsequently seeming prejudiced. Now this same research group has identified a mental trick that people play to convince themselves that they have these same non-racist credentials: convincing themselves that they were presented ...

Evolution: Social exclusion leads to cooperation

2012-12-05
The study, by IIASA Evolution and Ecology Program postdoctoral fellow Tatsuya Sasaki, provides a simple new model that ties punishment by social exclusion to the benefits for the punisher. It may help explain how social exclusion arose in evolution, and how it promotes cooperation among groups. "Punishment is a common tool to promote cooperation in the real world," says Sasaki. "And social exclusion is a common way to do it." From reef fish to chimpanzees, there are many examples of animals that promote cooperation by excluding free riders. Humans, too, use social exclusion ...

Predictors of postpartum pelvic joint pain identified among working women

2012-12-05
Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2012 – A new study of working women has identified factors during pregnancy and postpartum that can predict pain in the joints that comprise the pelvic girdle. While 90 percent of working women in the Netherlands return to work after the birth of their first child, health issues during the postpartum period often require sick leave. Chief among these health issues is pelvic girdle pain (PGP). "It is important to identify predictors for postpartum PGP, because physicians, obstetricians, midwives, and employers could use them to identify women ...

Synchrotron gives insight into green energy enzymes

2012-12-05
UC Davis chemists have been using a Japanese synchrotron to get a detailed look at enzymes that could help power the green economy. The work was published online Nov. 8 by the journal Angewandte Chemie and is featured on the cover of the Nov. 26 issue. One option for powering clean, environment friendly vehicles is to run them on hydrogen fuel rather than carbon-based fuels. Cheap catalysts to prepare hydrogen gas (H2) are key to this future "hydrogen economy." Current man-made catalysts are based on the rare and precious metal platinum. But living cells contain enzymes ...

Predicting, preventing, and controlling pandemics: Making the case for a strategic action plan

2012-12-05
December 4, 2012 – About 60% of infectious diseases are caused by viruses, bacteria and other pathogens that make the jump to humans from other species. This includes some of the most devastating disease outbreaks of the past 30 years, including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and SARS. Despite the huge and rising toll of such diseases, many gaps remain in our understanding of how these "zoonoses" evolve, develop, and spread—gaps that must be filled if we are to succeed in preventing or at least reducing the impact of a next pandemic. A new paper published in the Lancet by Stephen ...

Climate models project increase in US wildfire risk

Climate models project increase in US wildfire risk
2012-12-05
Scientists using NASA satellite data and climate models have projected drier conditions likely will cause increased fire activity across the United States in coming decades. Other findings about U.S. wildfires, including their amount of carbon emissions and how the length and strength of fire seasons are expected to change under future climate conditions, were also presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Doug Morton of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., presented the new analysis of future U.S. fire ...

Longer life expectancy, aging population necessitate new strategies for prostate cancer care

2012-12-05
The population of the United States is getting older, due not only to aging boomers but also to a four-year increase in life expectancy from 1990 to 2010. An aging population means increased diagnosis of prostate cancer. Statistically, the older the patient at time of diagnosis, the more aggressive the disease – and also the less well the patient is likely to tolerate traditional chemotherapies. In sum, we have more, aggressive prostate cancer that can't be targeted by traditional treatments. Members of the University of Colorado Cancer Center recently published a review ...

UI researchers help find way to protect historic limestone buildings

2012-12-05
Buildings and statues constructed of limestone can be protected from pollution by applying a thin, single layer of a water-resistant coating. That's the word from a University of Iowa researcher and her colleagues from Cardiff University in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, from the publishers of Nature. In the study, the researchers report a new way to minimize chemical reactions that cause buildings to deteriorate, according to Vicki Grassian, F. Wendell Miller professor in the UI departments of chemistry and chemical and biochemical engineering. The ...

Are there racial disparities in osteoporosis screening and treatment?

Are there racial disparities in osteoporosis screening and treatment?
2012-12-05
New Rochelle, NY, December 4, 2012—About 30 million women in the U.S. have osteoporosis, with low bone mass and deteriorating bone structure that increases their risk for fractures. Racial differences in the rates of detection and management of osteoporosis were explored in a study of African American and white women published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. The study, "Osteoporosis Health Care Disparities ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Osteoporosis treatment benefits people older than 80

Consuming more protein may protect patients taking anti-obesity drug from muscle loss

Thyroid treatment may improve gut health in people with hypothyroidism

Combination of obesity medication tirzepatide and menopause hormone therapy fuels weight loss

High blood sugar may have a negative impact on men’s sexual health

Emotional health of parents tied to well-being of children with growth hormone deficiency

Oxytocin may reduce mood changes in women with disrupted sleep

Mouse study finds tirzepatide slowed obesity-associated breast cancer growth

CMD-OPT model enables the discovery of a potent and selective RIPK2 inhibitor as preclinical candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury

Melatonin receptor 1a alleviates sleep fragmentation-aggravated testicular injury in T2DM by suppression of TAB1/TAK1 complex through FGFR1

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals Shen-Bai-Jie-Du decoction retards colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating the TMEM131–TNF signaling pathway-mediated differentiation of immunosuppressive dendritic ce

Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B Volume 15, Issue 7 Publishes

New research expands laser technology

Targeted radiation offers promise in patients with metastasized small cell lung cancer to the brain

A high clinically translatable strategy to anti-aging using hyaluronic acid and silk fibroin co-crosslinked hydrogels as dermal regenerative fillers

Mount Sinai researchers uncover differences in how males and females change their mind when reflecting on past mistakes

CTE and normal aging are difficult to distinguish, new study finds

Molecular arms race: How the genome defends itself against internal enemies

Tiny chip speeds up antibody mapping for faster vaccine design

KTU experts reveal why cultural heritage is important for community unity

More misfolded proteins than previously known may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia

“Too much going on”: Autistic adults overwhelmed by non-verbal social cues

What’s driving America’s deep freezes in a warming world?

A key role of brain protein in learning and memory is deciphered by scientists

Heart attacks don’t follow a Hollywood script

Erin M. Schuman wins 2026 Nakasone Award for discovery on neural synapse function and change during formation of memories

Global ocean analysis could replace costly in-situ sound speed profiles in seafloor positioning, study finds

Power in numbers: Small group professional coaching reduces rates of physician burnout by nearly 30%

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage: A comprehensive review of CCUS-EOR

New high-temperature stable dispersed particle gel for enhanced profile control in CCUS applications

[Press-News.org] Telestroke cost effective for hospitals