For Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH) near Melbourne, Australia, streamlining communication has been a major area of focus, both to improve patient care and to strengthen collaboration across its healthcare system. Up until the beginning of 2020, they used a combination of phone calls and pagers to interface among Emergency Services, ED, and hospital staff—resulting in inefficiencies and challenging communication for caregivers.
Prehospital stroke care continues to evolve. Over the past five years, mechanical thrombectomy has emerged as the preferred treatment option for patients presenting with large vessel occlusion strokes. EMS agencies are now being challenged to recognize large vessel occlusions on-scene and consider direct transport to comprehensive stroke centers for mechanical thrombectomy.