CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
Key takeaways
Teladoc Health helped a Southern U.S. health system address stroke care disparities, expand access to neurologists and scale its virtual neurology services, improving outcomes across the region.
- Achieved health equity goals by expanding access to teleneurology in historically underserved communities
- Doubled the number of teleneurology consults and increased hospital participation from 2023 to 2024
- Strengthened care coordination with a scalable, physician-supported platform that connects neurologists in seconds
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Addressing inequities in stroke care
Building a scalable solution with collaborative support from Teladoc Health and Adjacent Health
Transforming virtual neurological care delivery for a growing network of hospitals
Addressing inequities in stroke care
A prominent academic healthcare system in the Southern U.S., recognized as a leader in quality patient care, research and training, faced ongoing challenges encountered by many hospitals: staffing shortages, burnout and operational inefficiency. But the health system was also facing challenges unique to the South—the lack of comprehensive stroke care covering the region. Existing stroke facilities were concentrated in more populous areas, leaving large gaps in access to care.
In 2018, this leading academic healthcare system launched an acute telestroke solution for some of its affiliated hospitals. As the number of participating hospitals grew, needs varied—some sought a virtual acute stroke partner only for specific services or during certain times of the day, while others had an interest in subacute stroke or general neurology consultations. The demands of larger capacity hospital systems with more complex medical needs and higher volume requests led the healthcare system to seek a more innovative, scalable solution with additional clinician support.
With the Teladoc Health platform, we were able to effectively triage the urgency of the calls as they came in. It reduced strain on our attendings and empowered us to get care to patients faster."
Neurology and physician lead, leading academic healthcare system
Results1
100%
hospital retention in telestroke program
2X
increase in telestroke consults from 2023 to 2024 through partnership with Teladoc Health and Adjacent Health
Building a scalable solution with collaborative support from Teladoc Health and Adjacent Health
While the healthcare system’s platform was initially effective, manual processes and limited data hindered the ability to expand access. Its telestroke team needed to improve efficiency, deliver higher quality data and adjust for growth over time without sacrificing excellence of care.
To address operations and technology needs, the healthcare system partnered with Teladoc Health to scale its telestroke program with innovative, custom workflows. It also enlisted Adjacent Health, a best-in-class virtual physician service specializing in teleneurology, to enable a hybrid care model that could maximize resources and support its specialists. Together, these partners redesigned an expanded teleneurology program for the healthcare system.
Transforming virtual neurological care delivery for a growing network of hospitals
The Teladoc Health platform improved utilization, responsiveness and quality compliance, all while reducing the strain on the healthcare system’s resources. Its clinicians and other staff were able to collaborate virtually with neurologists from Adjacent Health to provide high-quality, timely patient care.
Driven by success, the program now serves over 30 hospitals throughout the South. Participating hospital providers can make requests without worrying about hospital resources, allowing the program to reach and treat a higher volume of patients.
To facilitate better decision-making among providers, the Teladoc Health platform enables collaborative documentation, standardized processes and greater visibility into performance measurements.
The aggregate and system-level reporting within the Teladoc Health platform allows the healthcare system and Adjacent Health to provide feedback and improve workflows. These data insights empowered the healthcare system to recognize and address an issue with delays in imaging that it would not have otherwise detected.
Teladoc Health also introduced the standardization of processes, such as requiring attending physicians to complete compliance and experience quality measures that improved administrative efficiency. Through the Teladoc Health platform, the healthcare system can efficiently share patient records with home hospital systems using EMR and third-party integrations.
As technology advances and treatment options improve, greater expertise is needed to respond to stroke cases at an increasing volume. A hybrid approach leveraging the clinical expertise of Adjacent Health and the Teladoc Health platform allows hospitals to provide 24/7 quality care."
Dr. Chad Miller, MD, FNCS, Chief Medical Officer, Adjacent Health
Physician support
Adjacent Health and the Teladoc Health platform can connect a patient and a neurologist in seconds.
Rapidly growing program continues to look ahead
With best-in-class treatment, the healthcare system has doubled the number of patients seen in one year. This results in more timely referrals and transfers for patients who need advanced care, including thrombectomy. It has also enabled more patients to remain in their home hospitals and communities by ruling out stroke.
As the healthcare system continues to expand its reach, it regularly meets with key stakeholders at participating hospitals to understand each hospital’s unique needs, provide updates, take questions and allow for knowledge sharing.
The healthcare system attributes much of its teleneurology growth to the Teladoc Health platform’s capabilities, along with the expanded specialty coverage provided through Adjacent Health—especially the ability to scale. Through critical data insights, workflow consistency and preparedness for growth, this leading academic healthcare system continues to elevate virtual neurological care, delivering more efficient, expert care to patients.
Partnering with our colleagues at Teladoc Health and Adjacent Health, building out the exact workflows we needed has made it possible for us to deliver care across the South in the way that we wanted to."
Neurology and physician lead, leading academic healthcare system
Results1
2X
increase in telestroke consults from 2023 to 2024
35+
increase in participating hospitals
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1 Teladoc Health Lunch and Learn data, December 2024.
The testimonials, opinions and statements reflect one client’s experience with Teladoc Health. Results and experiences may vary
from client to client. The testimonials are voluntarily provided and are not paid.
About Teladoc Health: Teladoc Health is empowering all people everywhere to live healthier lives by transforming the healthcare experience. Recognized as the world leader in whole-person virtual care, Teladoc Health leverages clinical expertise, advanced technology and actionable data insights to meet the evolving needs of consumers and healthcare professionals.