Driven by a shared quest for stroke care quality, center clinicians across NYU Langone continually work to communicate and align treatment protocols. Real-time patient cases and outcomes metrics inform the projects, with the goal of enhancing treatment approaches.

“The story behind our care quality can be found in the focused attention we put behind our processes,” notes Koto Ishida, MD, associate professor of neurology, director of stroke service, and medical director of the Center for Stroke and Neurovascular Diseases. “Whether it’s building redundancy into our systems, examining door-to-needle time for IV alteplase, or aligning our stroke order sets, continuous improvement in our protocols translates to excellent outcomes for our patients.”

Enhancing protocols also means leveraging the inherent multidisciplinary nature of stroke care, ensuring that processes are optimized within each subspecialty—from the availability of 24/7 neurointensive care coverage to expedited radiology protocols. Clinical research takes shape in a similarly multidisciplinary way, with stroke studies led by investigators in cardiology, neurosurgery, radiology, and rehabilitation medicine, in addition to neurology. “Through multiple lenses and avenues, we’re all constantly seeking to uncover the best options for our stroke patients, even if they’re the more resource-intensive options,” concludes Dr. Ishida.