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Conclusions

Stroke remains a major public health concern. Hospitalists play a central role in stroke management by improving the overall quality of hospital care for stroke patients. Still, most residency programs don’t provide sufficient stroke education. Therefore, comprehensive neurology educational programs should be provided for hospitalists so they can provide efficient inpatient care; initiate effective secondary prevention strategies tailored to the specific needs of the patients, starting with appropriate antiplatelet therapy; monitor patients at poststroke rehabilitation centers during recovery period; and educate stroke patients and their caregivers about the disease and its risk factors.

Hospitalists can also initiate effective communication with outpatient primary care providers at the time of discharge to help ensure that the secondary prevention strategies initiated in the hospital are not only continued but strengthened. TH

Dr. Sachdeva is lead hospitalist in the Stroke Program at the Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, and clinical instructor at the University of Washington, Seattle.

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