ABSTRACT
Acute stroke, both ischemic and hemorrhagic, represents a dramatic clinical event associated with high mortality and morbidity and, consequently, with a negative impact in terms of social costs and quality of life. The stroke care path is characterized by three key elements: structural, organizational, and quality assessment. It is critically important to carefully plan how the distinct components of stroke care should be combined in order to avoid fragmentation of the treatment caused by an inadequate integration of the various facilities, including acute stroke hospitals that can have telemedicine and teleradiology capability, primary and comprehensive stroke centers, emergency medical services (EMSs), and public and governmental agencies and resources. In all the experiences of regional stroke system implementation, the rst step is represented by the denition, identication, and classication of the stroke centers. The stroke center is characterized by the availability of the critical prehospital and hospital elements needed to provide an effective and efcient stroke care. Based on organizational complexity, a two-or three-step classication has been used to dene the level of each stroke center and it depends on the complexity
Abstract ......................................................................................................................3 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................4 1.2 Components of Stroke Care ..............................................................................5
