Telemedicine Success Stories

When it comes to patient care, individual outcomes demonstrate our excellent telemedicine results. UNM ACCESS Telemedicine patient stories feature people across the state who have needed urgent neurology and neurosurgery care.

These telehealth case studies cover only a few of the people we’ve helped our local partners treat. Hundreds of others have also received rapid, personalized treatment in their local hospital.

Learn more about how ACCESS Telemedicine works.

Peace of Mind After TIA

ER providers treated a 62-year-old woman who arrived confused, weak and with an altered mental status. Frightened, she explained that she’d never been this ill before. Via ACCESS, a UNM neurologist diagnosed a transient ischemic attack. To the patient’s relief, she learned that the diagnosis wasn’t as serious as she’d feared.

Later, the patient and her daughter reflected that they found the onscreen neurologist “kind, helpful and reassuring.” The patient was glad to have connected with a physician at her home hospital, as travel isn’t easy for her. And she was thankful to use a tool that provided “excellent care and peace of mind.”

Find out more about the conditions we treat.

Quick Access for Brain Tumor Treatment

A 65-year-old man arrived at the hospital with left-side numbness and an increasingly severe headache. Doctors quickly sent him for a scan and connected him with a neurosurgeon via ACCESS. Test results revealed a brain tumor.

The patient knew there were no specialists in his hometown, making an alarming situation even more worrying. But on the screen, the UNM doctor reassured the patient he would get the care he needed. The neurosurgeon arranged to see the patient in his clinic at UNM Hospital in Albuquerque within a week.

Relieved, the patient felt confident he “was in great hands with someone who truly cares.” After treatment, the patient has improved and feels he has had “exceptional care and support.”

Read more about UNM: neuro-emergent care leaders.

Stroke Care Close to Home

An 82-year-old man came to the ER with left-side weakness, facial droop and speech difficulty. Via a telehealth consultation, an ACCESS neurologist explained that the man had experienced an acute ischemic stroke.

The patient and his family appreciated that the neurologist took his time during the telestroke consultation. They reported that the doctor gave a clear explanation and answered their questions. The doctor recommended local physicians nearby who could help with further care, and he arranged an outpatient follow-up.

The patient, who did not want to transfer to Albuquerque, appreciated being able to have a specialty consult in the ER, close to home.

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