Telestroke and teleneurology

Telemedicine, specifically when applied to neurology and stroke medicine, is known as teleneurology and telestroke, respectively. These fields have made tremendous strides in the past 20 years and offer promise by providing expert and timely neurologic care remotely to hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, ambulances, patient homes, and others. Telestroke refers to remote stroke care that is aimed at both the acute and chronic phases of stroke care. In the acute setting, telestroke can be utilized to provide remote vascular care for patients who suffer from acute stroke in the prehospital settings (such as in ground and air ambulances), as well as in the emergency department, neurocritical care unit, and acute stroke care unit. In the chronic setting, telestroke can be helpful with poststroke rehabilitation, as well as chronic management of stroke and comorbidities via remote neurovascular clinics and in patient homes. Teleneurology takes this concept further and allows for access to expert neurological care remotely for guidance on diagnosis and management of other neurologic conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, headache, brain tumors, and others. As teleneurology and telestroke devices continue to improve with technologic advances, the fields promise to be major forces of neurologic care in the future, especially for remote and rural areas.