Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Mobile stroke units have been shown to deliver faster patient care and improve clinical outcomes. However, costs associated with staffing limit their use to densely populated cities. Using the Melbourne mobile stroke unit, we aim to evaluate the safety, timeliness, and resource efficiency...

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Main Authors: Vignan Yogendrakumar, Anna H. Balabanski, Hannah Johns, Leonid Churilov, Nicola K. Parsons, James Beharry, Louise Weir, Nawaf Yassi, Henry Zhao, Alex Warwick, Skye Coote, Francesca Langenberg, Leigh Branagan, Wasseem Siddiqi, Andrew Bivard, Bruce C. V. Campbell, Geoffrey A. Donnan, Stephen M. Davis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
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Online Access:https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.036856
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author Vignan Yogendrakumar
Anna H. Balabanski
Hannah Johns
Leonid Churilov
Nicola K. Parsons
James Beharry
Louise Weir
Nawaf Yassi
Henry Zhao
Alex Warwick
Skye Coote
Francesca Langenberg
Leigh Branagan
Wasseem Siddiqi
Andrew Bivard
Bruce C. V. Campbell
Geoffrey A. Donnan
Stephen M. Davis
author_facet Vignan Yogendrakumar
Anna H. Balabanski
Hannah Johns
Leonid Churilov
Nicola K. Parsons
James Beharry
Louise Weir
Nawaf Yassi
Henry Zhao
Alex Warwick
Skye Coote
Francesca Langenberg
Leigh Branagan
Wasseem Siddiqi
Andrew Bivard
Bruce C. V. Campbell
Geoffrey A. Donnan
Stephen M. Davis
author_sort Vignan Yogendrakumar
collection DOAJ
description Background Mobile stroke units have been shown to deliver faster patient care and improve clinical outcomes. However, costs associated with staffing limit their use to densely populated cities. Using the Melbourne mobile stroke unit, we aim to evaluate the safety, timeliness, and resource efficiency of a telemedicine model, where the neurologist assesses a patient remotely, via telemedicine, compared with an onboard neurologist model. We hypothesize that, without compromising patient safety, the telemedicine model will provide timely care and superior resource efficiency. Methods Using a prospective, randomized, blinded end‐point controlled design, 270 participants consecutively assessed on the Melbourne mobile stroke unit over ≈12 months will be assigned into 2 arms: (1) telemedicine neurologist assessment (intervention) versus (2) onboard assessment (comparator). Enrollment is based on prospectively designated randomized days of neurologist review onboard versus telemedicine. The primary outcome will be the odds that a randomly selected participant in the telemedicine arm will have a better outcome than a randomly selected participant in the onboard arm, measured using a desirability‐of‐outcome ranking, an outcome measure that includes, in order of importance: (1) safety, (2) scene‐to‐treatment‐decision time metrics, and (3) resource usage. All participants within each arm will be compared with those in the other, resulting in a “win/tie/loss” distribution for telemedicine compared with the onboard model. Conclusions The study will establish whether use of a telemedicine neurologist delivers superior resource efficiency without compromising patient care. This would enable the broader use of mobile stroke units, particularly relevant to regions with limited access to neurologists, thus improving equity in access to time‐critical, lifesaving stroke care. Registration URL: clinicaltrials.gov; Unique Identifier: NCT05991310.
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spelling doaj-art-40ce316dacf14ec9b7426da63e6b4e182025-08-20T01:54:22ZengWileyJournal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease2047-99802024-11-01132110.1161/JAHA.124.036856Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled TrialVignan Yogendrakumar0Anna H. Balabanski1Hannah Johns2Leonid Churilov3Nicola K. Parsons4James Beharry5Louise Weir6Nawaf Yassi7Henry Zhao8Alex Warwick9Skye Coote10Francesca Langenberg11Leigh Branagan12Wasseem Siddiqi13Andrew Bivard14Bruce C. V. Campbell15Geoffrey A. Donnan16Stephen M. Davis17Department of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Medicine, Melbourne Medical School University of Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Medicine, Melbourne Medical School University of Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology Christchurch Hospital Christchurch New ZealandDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaAmbulance Victoria Melbourne AustraliaAmbulance Victoria Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, University of Melbourne Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne AustraliaBackground Mobile stroke units have been shown to deliver faster patient care and improve clinical outcomes. However, costs associated with staffing limit their use to densely populated cities. Using the Melbourne mobile stroke unit, we aim to evaluate the safety, timeliness, and resource efficiency of a telemedicine model, where the neurologist assesses a patient remotely, via telemedicine, compared with an onboard neurologist model. We hypothesize that, without compromising patient safety, the telemedicine model will provide timely care and superior resource efficiency. Methods Using a prospective, randomized, blinded end‐point controlled design, 270 participants consecutively assessed on the Melbourne mobile stroke unit over ≈12 months will be assigned into 2 arms: (1) telemedicine neurologist assessment (intervention) versus (2) onboard assessment (comparator). Enrollment is based on prospectively designated randomized days of neurologist review onboard versus telemedicine. The primary outcome will be the odds that a randomly selected participant in the telemedicine arm will have a better outcome than a randomly selected participant in the onboard arm, measured using a desirability‐of‐outcome ranking, an outcome measure that includes, in order of importance: (1) safety, (2) scene‐to‐treatment‐decision time metrics, and (3) resource usage. All participants within each arm will be compared with those in the other, resulting in a “win/tie/loss” distribution for telemedicine compared with the onboard model. Conclusions The study will establish whether use of a telemedicine neurologist delivers superior resource efficiency without compromising patient care. This would enable the broader use of mobile stroke units, particularly relevant to regions with limited access to neurologists, thus improving equity in access to time‐critical, lifesaving stroke care. Registration URL: clinicaltrials.gov; Unique Identifier: NCT05991310.https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.036856mobile stroke unitprehospitalstroketelemedicinetrial design
spellingShingle Vignan Yogendrakumar
Anna H. Balabanski
Hannah Johns
Leonid Churilov
Nicola K. Parsons
James Beharry
Louise Weir
Nawaf Yassi
Henry Zhao
Alex Warwick
Skye Coote
Francesca Langenberg
Leigh Branagan
Wasseem Siddiqi
Andrew Bivard
Bruce C. V. Campbell
Geoffrey A. Donnan
Stephen M. Davis
Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
mobile stroke unit
prehospital
stroke
telemedicine
trial design
title Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
title_fullStr Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
title_short Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Telemedicine Physician Assessments on a Mobile Stroke Unit: Protocol for a Prospective Open‐Label Blinded End‐Point Randomized Controlled Trial
title_sort evaluating the safety and efficacy of telemedicine physician assessments on a mobile stroke unit protocol for a prospective open label blinded end point randomized controlled trial
topic mobile stroke unit
prehospital
stroke
telemedicine
trial design
url https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.036856
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