The Northern Stroke Alliance (NSA) initiative supports and promotes the development of telemedicine networks that will provide immediate consultative services from stroke neurologists who will assist local physicians with the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. Started in 2005 as the first project of Northern Neurosciences, it is the goal of the NSA initiative to maximize the appropriate use of thrombolytic therapy (i.e., intravenous tissue plasminogen activator [t-PA]) in patients suffering from acute stroke. The NSA promotes real-time, bi-direction video conferencing with the capability to transmit neuroimaging studies such as head CT scans to the stroke neurologist for evaluation.
Other services that the NSA promotes in developing networks include (as needed):
- the organization of referral lines to larger hospitals for subacute stroke healthcare
- the provision of written stroke healthcare guidelines and pathways
- the provision of CME seminars on current stroke healthcare
- a secure web log to provide feedback on the telemedicine service
- outcomes data tracking on patients treated by the telemedicine service
The work of the NSA in Michigan set the stage for the development of independent stroke telemedicine networks involving more than 20 hospitals in that state. Furthermore, the NSA was the catalyzing force for a state bill requiring third-party insurers to reimburse equitably for telemedicine services (SB 1956 PA 218).
