Vituity Introduces Acute Neurology Services

As the Prevalence of Stroke and Similar Disorders Increases, Hospitals are Challenged to Meet the Demand for State-of-the-Art Acute Neurologic Care

October 31, 2017 – EMERYVILLE CA – Vituity, the nation’s largest physician‐owned partnership, has launched its Acute Neurology practice, a single solution for the integration of teleneurology, telestroke, neurohospitalist, neuro-diagnostic and other neurology specialty services at a time when innovation of this kind is critical to meeting the growing need for stroke and other neurologic care.

“Comprehensive care from experienced neurologists is a necessity in today’s hospital environment, especially as our population ages and the number of strokes increases,” said Imamu Tomlinson, MD, a practicing physician and Chief Executive Officer of Vituity. “Our experienced acute neurologists and industry-leading services will help hospitals broaden their expertise to serve more patients in a more effective way.”

According to a study that appeared in the journal Neurology, the current number of and projected future demand for neurologists suggests a significant physician shortage of about 11 percent in 2013, jumping to 19 percent by 2025.

Vituity expanded into Acute Neurology when the physicians of SAGE NeuroHospitalist Management Group joined the Partnership in July 2017. With a distinguished reputation for service quality, these physicians provide comprehensive, high quality inpatient neurohospitalist and teleneurology services, as well as neurology consulting services to hospitals. Through the partnership with SAGE, Vituity extended their valuable relationship with Riverside Community Hospital, CA, to provide unique neurologic services for both remote and in-hospital programs.

“Our patients have benefited greatly through our relationship with the physicians and emergency care providers of Vituity,” said Patrick Brilliant, Chief Executive Officer of Riverside Community Hospital. “With the integration of SAGE’s neurologic offerings and Vituity’s reputable patient care solutions across the healthcare continuum, we know our patients will receive the same customized care that our hospital has always stood for, and we look forward to enhancing this level of care through the innovative services and solutions that the partnership will bring to acute neurologic care.”

Vituity’s teleneurology service will allow hospitals to provide a broader range of services to patients through around-the-clock access to specialty-trained neurologists for remote consultations and remote patient interviewing. Vituity’s services also include the review of neurological imaging and other ancillary testing, as well as determining the eligibility for thrombolytic (tPA) therapy and need for neuro-interventional procedures. The neurohospitalist service will offer customized support through virtual and/or onsite consultations for patients, and streamlined participation with palliative care teams and other hospital staff.

“Treating patients with acute neurologic conditions has not only been my career, it’s been my personal passion – and Vituity’s culture embodies that passion and is what separates their solution-based services from others in the market,” said Arbi Ohanian, MD, Vice President for Acute Neurology. “Our hope is to expand access to the latest technologies and practices so hospitals can deliver best-in-class patient care, and Vituity is bringing this vision to life.”

Vituity will offer additional programs as part of the neurology practice line including assistance with stroke center accreditation through The Joint Commission and other entities, and neuro-diagnostic services including intraoperative monitoring (IOM), as well as diagnostic and continuous EEG studies.

“Providing comprehensive, cost effective and quality-based neurologic care in an acute setting requires not only highly trained neurologists, but also specialized support services such as neuro-diagnostics like EEG monitoring in the ICU,” said Yafa Minazad, DO, Vice President for Acute Neurology. “With the addition of SAGE providers, Vituity is creating an innovative, streamlined effort, utilizing remote access and tele services to deliver highly specialized neurological expertise to the patient bedside, which leads to better clinical and financial outcomes for patients and the hospital.”

With Vituity providing services across the full acute care continuum, it is uniquely positioned and qualified to introduce tightly coordinated care for patients requiring neurologic care. This is especially true for the coordination between emergency, neurology, intensive care, hospitalist and anesthesiology services to ensure that patients receive the appropriate level of care in a timely manner.

About SAGE NeuroHospitalist Management Group
SAGE NeuroHospitalist Management Group was at the forefront of transforming inpatient neurology solutions for patients and hospitals. The physicians provide comprehensive inpatient neurohospitalist and teleneurology services, as well as neurology consulting services to hospitals to help enhance care delivery and further their respective missions. The physicians have worked with thirty-five hospitals across the U.S. to ensure high quality acute care is achieved and unmet patient needs are addressed.

About Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside Community Hospital has been serving the Southern California community for over 110 years with a staff of over 1,900 employees and 500 physicians across over 200 specialties. Through their passion of providing the most comprehensive, quality healthcare and commitment in investing in the latest technologic advances in medicine, Riverside Community Hospital has been recognized as a Top Performing Hospital on Key Quality Measures for three consecutive years in a row by The Joint Commission.

About Vituity
As a physician-led and -owned multispecialty partnership, Vituity has proactively driven positive change in the business and practice of healthcare for nearly 50 years. Our more than 3,500 doctors and clinicians provide a wide range of integrated acute care expertise. Serving over 6.4 million patients annually at more than 300 practice locations, our footprint continues to rapidly expand across the country as we partner with and support hospitals, health systems, clinics, payers, and employers. Vituity’s acute focus and compassionate care are the driving forces that have placed us at the heart of better care.

Our services span the entire acute care continuum, including emergency medicine, acute psychiatry, acute neurology, hospital medicine, critical care, anesthesiology, acute care surgery, telehealth, post-acute care, and outpatient medicine.

Partnering to improve patient lives

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Vituity Introduces Acute Neurology Services, an Innovative Solution for U.S. Hospitals to Provide Comprehensive Neurologic Care

Partnering to improve patient lives