Neurology telemedicine:
a full solution overview

Neurology telemedicine: a full solution overview

May 13, 2023

Neurology telemedicine market statistics

neurologists are currently employed in the US

Zippia

neurologists used telehealth in 2021

American Medical Association

neurologists agreed that telehealth increased their professional satisfaction

American Medical Association

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The architecture of a neurological telemedicine solution

Solutions developed for the department of neurology include the same core elements as general-use software for telehealth appointments: separate servers for video and audio streaming as well as for data storage and processing. However, the variety of additional integrations and interfaces for medical professionals, admins, and patient access makes the solution neurology-specific.

Neurology medical specialistsEHRMedical imaging systemsRemote patient monitoring devicesLaboratory information systemsOther 3d party apps (payment gateways, electronic prescription software, hospital management software, etc.)Patients and caregiversInformational dashboardfor different user groupsCloud server for data storage and processingAdminsVideo and audiostreaming serversorEHROther 3d party apps (payment gateways, electronic prescription software, hospital management software, etc.)orMedical imaging systemsRemote patient monitoring devicesLaboratory information systemsPatients & caregiversInformational dashboardfor different user groupsNeurology medical specialistsCloud server for data storage and processingAdminsVideo and audiostreaming servers

Key capabilities of telemedicine for neurology

Functionality differs across telehealth neurology applications depending on the providers’ specialties and service scopes. Still, the solutions most commonly include features for secure communication with patients, monitoring their conditions, and engaging with them.

Communication

A telehealth app should enable effective synchronous and asynchronous communication between patients, neurologists, and other medical professionals.
    • Messaging, including image and video exchange
    • High-quality video and audio conferencing
    • Appointment scheduling
    • Referral management
    • Electronic prescriptions

    Monitoring and analysis

    Telehealth software allows neurologists and other medical professionals to make more data-based decisions by helping monitor patients’ conditions, analyzing the data from a televisit or other integrated tools, and compiling it into comprehensive reports.
      • Neurological condition monitoring with RPM tools
      • Medical image and symptom log analysis
      • Condition autoidentification based on patterns
      • Personalized recommendations for preventing neurological conditions

      Patient education and engagement

      Teleneurology applications are vital for increasing patient engagement and involvement in health management, which takes much pressure off the medical personnel, speeds up diagnostics, and improves treatment outcomes.
        • Video, audio, image, and text library with tips on self-checkups and managing neurological disorders
        • Patient knowledge assessment tools
        • Secure storage of video visit records
        • Symptoms and health log updates
        • Integration with EHR/EMR systems

        Security

        The information about patients’ neurological states is highly sensitive and should be protected from inaccurate input, leaking, hacker attacks, loss, or damage.
          • Compliance with industry privacy and security regulations
          • Secure data transfer and communication protocols
          • Role-based access
          • Two-step authorization

          Essential telehealth software integrations

          While you can successfully use teleneurology applications as they are for consultations, integrations with various healthcare software can significantly increase medical specialists’ productivity, save time, and help patients get more convenient and beneficial virtual care.
          Key integration options
          EMR/EHR
          Pharmacy management software
          Remote patient monitoring
          Laboratory information systems
          Healthcare data analytics solutions
          Billing and insurance management

          Enable neurologists to access patients’ health history, including immunization, allergy, and medication records, for more precise diagnosis and treatment by connecting the telehealth platform to the EHR system of choice.

          With a PMS integration, you can streamline medication management for patients and their caregivers, including receiving prescriptions, validation, refills, or changes due to adverse reactions.

          Facilitate 24/7 condition monitoring and help neurologists examine patients more thoroughly using specialized devices that instantly exchange data with the telehealth app.

          Connect the teleneurology platform to the laboratory information system and give neurology specialists faster access to detailed lab test reports for speedy diagnosis or treatment monitoring.

          With an analytics software integration, neurologists can extract valuable insights from tests, symptom logs, EHR, and medical images for accurate diagnostics and offer personalized data-based treatment to patients.

          Billing and insurance management

          Make sure your medical personnel gets reimbursement for teleneurology services faster and in full, and simplify payment through the teleneurology app by connecting it to financial software.

          Teleneurology use cases

          Online neurologists can perform various tasks through telehealth, from swift diagnoses and urgent patient care recommendations to chronic neurological conditions management and annual checkups. Therefore, such remote care delivery is perfect for those unable to make in-person visits to the specialist’s office: patients with restricted mobility or incapacitating mental health conditions, those belonging to the high-risk groups during the pandemic, pediatric patients, the elderly, or people living in medically underserved regions.

          • Stroke care
          • Epilepsy episode
          • Encephalitis
          • Head injuries
          • Seizure origin detection
          • Headache
          • Cognitive dysregulation
          • Parkinson disease
          • Chronic depression
          • Multiple sclerosis
          • Normal pressure hydrocephalus
          • Neuromuscular abnormalities
          • Neuro-oncology
          • Dementia
          • Movement disorders
          • Regular checkups and follow-ups
          • Prevention of cerebrovascular diseases
          • Cerebral aneurysm detection
          • Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
          • Mini-Mental State Examination

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          How different user groups leverage teleneurology software

          Clinicians, patients, caregivers, and system admins perform different actions and need access to different types of information in a teleneurology application. Therefore, the teleneurology user experience varies significantly for each user group, and developers should cater to them all.

          Patients and caregivers
          They schedule appointments, pay for telehealth services, review the recordings of their sessions, manage their health information, add data to the symptom logs, receive electronic prescriptions, and get instructions on their conditions’ management. Some apps can also provide patient satisfaction questionnaires for them to complete.
          Medical professionals
          They manage their appointment schedules, provide telemedicine services, review patient health information, and refer them to other healthcare specialists with additional notes to ensure the continuity of care. They can also hold meetings with neuroscience professionals to get a second opinion on complicated cases.
          Admins
          They monitor the software’s performance, update it if needed, solve technical issues, integrate additional modules, migrate data from other systems, or manage other users’ access to the protected information.

          Real-life examples of telemedicine in neurology

          Access Telecare

          Access Telecare’s expert neurologists conduct around 7,000 teleconsultations every month for hospitals around the US. They leverage telecommunications technology and healthcare analytics to provide neurological services where on-site neurologists aren’t available. Сlinicians can reach out to Telecare experts in just five minutes to get help identifying the condition and recommended treatment.

          Teleneurology Service in Stony Brook

          Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital employs telemedicine to provide their patients with specialty consultations, including neurology. This hospital also partners with multiple local care providers and outsources teleneurology consultations to them, helping make quality neurological care more accessible.

          NeuroNow

          Dr. Siegel is a certified General Neurology, Brain Injury Medicine, and Neurocritical Care specialist who offers his services through the telehealth platform NeuroNow. His patients report high satisfaction levels due to saved time and money, the speed of the doctor’s response, and his attentiveness during the telehealth visit.

          Teleneurology implementation challenges

          As a relatively new technology in the healthcare field, teleneurology has its limitations. While some challenges, like licensing difficulties for out-of-state specialists, need to be addressed on the legislative level, others can be easily solved by an experienced implementation partner.

          Challenges

          Solutions

          High costs

          You can use the additional revenue teleneurology solutions generate to compensate for the cost of their implementation. If the upfront license cost is too high, healthcare providers can opt for SaaS solutions with a per-month payment model.

          Physicians’ reluctance to learn a new technology

          Hospital decision-makers should convey the benefits teleneurology can bring to their employees. You can hold training, solution presentations, and workshops with Q&A sessions to help get medical personnel on board with the innovation.

          Privacy and security concerns

          Teleneurology software should be developed according to telehealth interoperability policies and security protocols. It should also employ standard security capabilities like end-to-end data encryption and two-factor authentication and comply with HIPAA, GDPR, or other local regulations.

          Complications with obtaining medical images like EEG, CT-scans

          It is true that some medical images still have to be taken in-person at a special facility. Yet, medical IoT is developing rapidly, so more and more diagnostic procedures can be performed in real-time during virtual visits. Remote EEG services are already available for ICU and ER units and are in the testing stage for in-home use.

          Benefits of telemedicine for neurology

          The AAN confirms that telemedicine for neurology benefits multiple demographic groups of patients, medical professionals, and healthcare organizations if implemented correctly.

          Benefits of telemedicine for neurology

          • Wider service area coverage
          • Flexible working hours and location
          • Reduced facility costs
          • More engaged patients
          • Faster reimbursement
          • Better health outcomes

          • More frequent checkups
          • Easier access to health information
          • Faster emergency response
          • Travel time and costs saving
          • No exposure to hospital-acquired infections
          • Streamlined referrals

          Teleneurology adoption success factors

          To benefit from the above-mentioned advantages of teleneurology software, healthcare providers have to choose or make sure during the implementation that a solution that has certain characteristics.

          Interoperable
          to transfer data seamlessly between other healthcare software

          Properly implemented 
          with clear objectives and a roadmap in mind

          Reliable 
          to ensure stable performance and quick recovery in case of disruptions

          Used by trained personnel 
          to ensure the workflows’ efficiency and user satisfaction

          User-friendly 
          to prevent burnout in neurologists and other medical staff

          Secure and compliant 
          to protect patient data and your neurologists’ licenses

          Flexible 
          easy to update when your institution’s goals or needs change

          Scalable 
          to support you in growing your patient base and service portfolio

          Teleneurology solution

          Save lives by employing teleneurology

          Save lives by employing teleneurology

          The human brain is the most powerful and fragile organ in our bodies, making fast medical response essential in case of injury or malfunction. Therefore, healthcare organizations should strive to give patients easy access to quality neurological services even if no neurology specialists are in the area. Teleneurology helps neurology specialists reach patients in underserved areas, and those who can’t travel to the hospital frequently due to health conditions. Providers who have adopted teleneurology report elevated levels of patient trust with fewer readmissions and no-shows, improved professional satisfaction from the medical specialists, and increased revenue. If you want to tap into such benefits, Itransition can be your reliable telehealth technology partner.

          Save lives by employing teleneurology

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          FAQs about telemedicine for neurology

          How much does developing a telemedicine app for neurology cost?

          The cost of a telemedicine app varies significantly depending on its capabilities, the number of integrations, the volume of patient data to process, and other factors. The price starts from around $100,000 for a simple teleneurology app developed from scratch.

          Do I need a custom teleneurology app?

          Custom telehealth application development is the best option if you already have a robust healthcare IT ecosystem and need to integrate your teleneurology software with other systems. Other cases include unique requirements for the software due to niche neurology services you plan to provide or advanced technology you’d like to embed into the app.

          How long does it take to implement teleneurology software?

          The duration of a teleneurology solution’s implementation depends on the number and complexity of features and integrations you need. On average, a simple neurology telehealth app can be implemented within 3 to 8 months.

          Can I just use Skype, Messenger, or any other similar system to provide consultations?

          We highly advise against using any software that is not HIPAA-compliant or hasn’t been developed according to the healthcare industry security regulations. This will jeopardize your patients’ data and can result in penalties for your organization.

          Is there proof that video visits are as effective as office visits?

          In some cases, the American Academy of Neurology recommends virtual care over in-person visits based on patient satisfaction and clinical effectiveness studies. Still, you should discuss each case with the patient to determine the most suitable option for them.

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