Highlighting the Michigan Medicine Tele-Neurology Program

The Michigan Medicine Tele-Neurology Program provides 24/7 neurology evaluations via video conferencing to MidMichigan Health (Midland, Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Mount Pleasant) for patients in the emergency room and inpatient setting.  

A MidMichigan West Branch will be added in Fall of 2019.

MidMichigan is an affiliate and part of the U-M Health System.

The goal of this program is to provide timely neurology evaluations and recommendations for evaluation and treatment while keeping patients close to home in their community hospital or emergency room.  

The video evaluations involve a physician, nurse, patient and family member at the MidMichigan facility connecting with a Michigan Medicine faculty member in Ann Arbor. 

Our faculty are able to review the patient’s record, discuss the patient’s condition with the local physician, examine the patient with assistance from the local physician, and nurse and speak with the patient and family through the video connection.  

“I enjoy being able to meet and interact with patients through video. We are able to complete a thorough evaluation and provide recommendations to the treatment team in MidMichigan,” said Gary Gallagher, M.D. “I can tell that patients are appreciative in meeting through video rather than being transferred to a large/distant hospital.”

Some of the more common diagnoses and reasons for consult include: subacute stroke and stroke evaluation and secondary prevention recommendations, first time seizure evaluation, altered mental status and general weakness. 

Michigan Medicine faculty who have been involved in the program since 2016 include: Ben Bly, M.D., Ph.D.; Gary Gallagher, M.D.; Kurt Sieloff, M.D.; and Kara Wyant, M.D.. In 2019, the program expanded the primary faculty coverage group to include: Jen Arnold, M.D., Ph.D.; Bridget Cornett, M.D.; and Mike Popovich, M.D. Jason Chua, M.D., Ph.D.; Dustin Nowacek, M.D., Navid Seraji-Bozorgzad, M.D.; Ben Stewart, M.D.; and Craig Williamson, M.D., will be joining the group to support night and weekend coverage.

The Tele-Neurology program has experienced tremendous growth since it began in 2016 with fewer than five consults per month. In the ensuing years, the program has seen a major increase in video consults:  

2017 – 79 video consults 
2018 – 434 video consults

From January to June 2019, there have been 411 video consults, putting the program on track to double its number of consults in 2019. On average, there are around 80 consults per month.

To learn more about TeleSpecialty consults, click here.