
Stroke care is time sensitive. Early identification and appropriate management in the initial hours after the event are associated with lower morbidity and mortality as well as a reduction in healthcare costs. The annual economic costs of stroke in the EU is of approximately €38 billion/year (50% direct health costs, 22% productivity loss, 29% informal care of people with stroke).1
€38bn per year
50 %
direct health costs
22 %
productivity loss
29 %
informal care
Led by Elisabeth-TweeSteden Ziekenhuis, this pilot aims to improve outcomes and thereby reduce the overall cost of stroke by using big data to identify and remove bottlenecks in time-critical, hyper-acute stages of the workflow.
Big data is required to address this problem due to the volume (data generated from the intervention of multiple healthcare professionals and the use of multiple facilities), velocity (e.g. real-time data will be generated form the Real-Time Locating Systems), variety and veracity and value (e.g. resource optimization in emergency department and time reduction for diagnosis and treatment).
Other outcomes expected are: better asset, installations and staff management, increased patient safety and increased patient throughput through the emergency department. Weaknesses in the workflow will be identified by combining all information helping to develop improved protocols.
1 Source: Nichols M, Townsend N, Luengo-Fernandez R, Leal J, Gray A, Scarborough P, Rayner M. European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2012. European Heart Network, Brussels, European Society of Cardiology, Sophia. Antipolis. 2012.