Comments about the Neurology Service line?
Kim Springer, MSW, Executive Director of St. Vincent Neuroscience Institute at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital:
"Within neuroscience, as is true with all service lines, the most pronounced opportunity lies in responding to our changing healthcare environment."
Q: What are some of the newest technologies or applications that are being used in the neurology service line?
Ms. Spielman: Continuous EEG is one new technologies which we have integrated with other neuro monitoring for better care of our most critical patients.
David Houghton, MD, MPH, Vice Chairman of Clinical Development and Division Chief of Movement and Memory Disorders, Ochsner
Neuroscience Institute (New Orleans):
"Teleneurology and that remote ability to manage patients is number one on the list."
Q: What advice do you have for neuro service line leaders for the coming year?
Dr. Houghton: “... think creatively, consolidate expertise, use technology like teleneurology and increase both efficiency and patient satisfaction.”
VP of Clinical Support Services
How does Continuous EEG Impact the Clinical Support Service Lines under my direction at the Hospital?
As the demand for specialized care increases, hospitals have to transform and innovate their service lines to meet quality expectations. Service line leaders are looking to implement evidenced-based quality care practices with engaged physicians to implement creative solutions that can impact the quality of care.
The same evidenced based practices are driving the Medical Directors of Critical Care and Neurosciences to ask for a continuous EEG monitoring program for their neurocritical care patients.
The neuroscience service line is multidepartmental and requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Cerebral monitoring cuts across all medical departments and patient stratification from newborn through pediatric to adult - each with their own unique monitoring challenges. Not all Critical Care physicians can read an EEG at the bedside to know if their patient is having non-convulsive seizures. You need unique expertise in the exact location at the exact right time to deliver quality neurocritical patient care. This can be accomplished easily if you are a Teaching Hospital or Academic University Hospital with an abundance of specialists, neurointensivist, and residents.
But...what if you are not one of those hospital? The problems do not go away...
One Answer is...
Hire more Neurologists to staff EEG reading around the clock.
But...if that does not work then - CortiCare can provide hospitals an outsourced neurotelemetry service that offers constant cerebral monitoring to protect against neuronal damage using registered technologists and neurophysiologists without incurring the high cost of maintaining an in-house, round the clock neurodiagnostic monitoring staff.
We have succeeded in providing reliable neurophysiologic monitoring services to hospitals across the country, eliminating the worrisome problem for critical care physicians and hospital staff who have to arrange for continuous EEG monitoring on short notice which often results in settling for unattended EEG recording by untrained monitoring staff and unsatisfactory service to your reading neurologist.
There is little to no value in a continuous EEG “recording” if no one is looking at the data in real-time to intervene in critical patient care that improves outcome and decreases mortality.
The only reason you are not looking at the data in real-time is....well...it cost too much.
It is difficult to have an experienced, registered EEG technologist available around the clock to watch squiggly lines for changes in cerebral activity. However, that is the Gold Standard for detecting neurocritical care events.
But we understand the cost-benefit payoff and as a result we have developed a secondary monitoring level we call – Intermittent Monitoring. This Monitoring Service uses R.EEG Technologists to review your recorded raw EEG data at set intervals and contact a neurologist as a result of changes in the cerebral status or your critical care patients.
If you would like a consultation on how CortiCare can work with you and your clinical staff, to supplement a current EEG monitoring program to fill in temporarily, or you are looking for a permanent solution to your continuous EEG monitoring problem we are happy to explore options and solutions that will work for you and your facility.