Search Results (1)

Background: Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) requires rapid multidisciplinary assessment, yet access to neurological and neurosurgical expertise may be uneven. Although telemedicine is established in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS), evidence regarding its role in ICH remains limited. This review describes the organisational framework of the Slovenian TeleKap network and examines its potential application to ICH care. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched for literature concerning telemedicine, telestroke, ICH, neurosurgery, acute stroke care, and the Slovenian TeleKap network. Relevant guidelines, reviews, clinical studies, and publications describing telemedicine implementation were narratively synthesised, with emphasis on organisational workflow and neurosurgical consultation. Results: TeleKap connects regional hospitals with tertiary neurological and neurosurgical centres through audiovisual consultation and remote access to clinical and imaging data. In ICH, it provides an organisational mechanism for specialist input into assessment, triage, transfer decisions, preoperative planning, local management, and continuity of care. These functions constitute organisational capabilities rather than clinically validated benefits. They may support more standardised workflows and multidisciplinary coordination; however, no TeleKap-specific ICH registry, consecutive cohort, or comparative study has demonstrated shorter treatment times, more appropriate transfers, improved resource utilisation, or better clinical outcomes. Published evidence of telestroke effectiveness relates predominantly to AIS and cannot be extrapolated directly to ICH. Conclusions: TeleKap represents a national implementation of established telemedicine principles within the Slovenian healthcare system, but its clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and transferability remain to be established. Further development should prioritise registry-based quality monitoring, standardised protocols, and interoperability, with locally validated AI-supported imaging considered as a subsequent step. Full article