Telestroke workflow and compensation?

[Barrista125]

Hi I am applying to neurology this cycle and am struggling to find consistent information regarding this:
How much are you making if you are a 40hr/wk fulltime telestroke neurologist? A lot of people I managed to connect with are telling me 400k, but there are outliers that are saying 200k. Can everyone who has experience in this chime in. I want to know how viable it is to work fulltime telestroke. Also, are there any other work from home neurology subspecialties that are clearing 400k? (it's ok if I have to go in ~2 days a week).

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[ProReduction]

Hi I am applying to neurology this cycle and am struggling to find consistent information regarding this:
How much are you making if you are a 40hr/wk fulltime telestroke neurologist? A lot of people I managed to connect with are telling me 400k, but there are outliers that are saying 200k. Can everyone who has experience in this chime in. I want to know how viable it is to work fulltime telestroke. Also, are there any other work from home neurology subspecialties that are clearing 400k? (it's ok if I have to go in ~2 days a week).

400k is about right. I would caution you to not specifically tailor your trajectory to a "work from home" job. In doing so, you will severely limit your chance to have a "career" with professional growth and promotion opportunity. You will also be ripe for becoming subject to the whims of corporate medicine and the AI/mid-level/International-physician take-over. The majority of Neurologists that do Tele are independent contractors and continue to maintain a traditional in-person practice, whether in academics or in the community. They are walking the halls of the hospital/clinic and maintaining those in-person relationships that are critical.
Yes, Tele is booming now. But many local hospitals are finally coming correct and offering 100-200k more per year for a good Neurohospitalist than they were 3-5 years ago. Having done Tele for many years, and being an engineer, I still do not trust Tele in anything other than the emergency/triage setting. I want every single patient I see on Tele for STAT/Emergency cases seen as quickly as possible by an in-person Neurologist in the hospital.

 

[Hank Rearden]

I would just add that telestroke is not a 40hr a week 8-5 M-F job. You will likely be working 12 hr shifts in some form, covering some weekends and some nights. I do telestroke on top of my academic stroke clinical duties in the hospital and it's probably one of my least favorite aspects of the job. Doing it day in day out with no other patient interaction sounds like pure hell to me, but to each his own. Clearly you probably have other goals outside of work that are much more important if you are considering a career like this.

 

[Neurogeneral]

you can make decent compensation ($400k) doing telestroke/teleneurology if you are willing to work full time (15 shifts per month) doing days, evenings, and overnights.

Having said that, I wouldn’t go into neurology with the intention of doing strictly “tele-neurology”. So much of what makes neurology special is what happens in the exam room or at the patient bedside and tele-neurology to at least some extent, cannot completely replace that.

And if you are choosing this speciality just for the sake of having the option of working from home, there are better suited options available such as radiology, psych, etc IMHO that you should consider as well.

 

[Drhappyface]

Is 400k/15 shifts typical for telestroke? (BTW is that 12 hour shifts?) Or does this rate differ between Companies?

 

[Aldertonghen]

Is 400k/15 shifts typical for telestroke? (BTW is that 12 hour shifts?) Or does this rate differ between Companies?

Weekends/nights pay more, and also census is what I’ve been told. 12 hour shifts usually

 

[Drhappyface]

How much telestroke to hit >500k?

 

[Telamir]

A lot.

C’mon, man.

 

[xenotype]

you can make decent compensation ($400k) doing telestroke/teleneurology if you are willing to work full time (15 shifts per month) doing days, evenings, and overnights.

Having said that, I wouldn’t go into neurology with the intention of doing strictly “tele-neurology”. So much of what makes neurology special is what happens in the exam room or at the patient bedside and tele-neurology to at least some extent, cannot completely replace that.

And if you are choosing this speciality just for the sake of having the option of working from home, there are better suited options available such as radiology, psych, etc IMHO that you should consider as well.

The major companies might promise $400k but you won't be able to hit this without making compromises on the quality of your care and documentation to see the volume they require. Tele is going to be realistically the same amount as most of the neurohospitalist jobs you see posted (eg 300-350) at 15 shifts a month, likely with fewer benefits.

 

[davidBA]

you can make decent compensation ($400k) doing telestroke/teleneurology if you are willing to work full time (15 shifts per month) doing days, evenings, and overnights.

Having said that, I wouldn’t go into neurology with the intention of doing strictly “tele-neurology”. So much of what makes neurology special is what happens in the exam room or at the patient bedside and tele-neurology to at least some extent, cannot completely replace that.

And if you are choosing this speciality just for the sake of having the option of working from home, there are better suited options available such as radiology, psych, etc IMHO that you should consider as well.

Do you think IM (or any of its subspecialties) is a better option than neuro for tele?

 

[curiousneuro]

>600k for 2022 for me, but I do take extra calls on my days off when I'm in the mood (not just 15 shifts/month). It really boils down to efficiency, of both yourself and the tele network you are a part of. I think I give good care with obviously the limitations that tele has. Don't feel overworked or overwhelmed.

 

[Drhappyface]

>600k for 2022 for me, but I do take extra calls on my days off when I'm in the mood (not just 15 shifts/month). It really boils down to efficiency, of both yourself and the tele network you are a part of. I think I give good care with obviously the limitations that tele has. Don't feel overworked or overwhelmed.

Do you have a vascular fellowship? And if so any benefits to that? And when you say you take more than 15 shifts, how many shifts do you mean?

 

[curiousneuro]

Do you have a vascular fellowship? And if so any benefits to that? And when you say you take more than 15 shifts, how many shifts do you mean?

I did a stroke felllowship....I think it was helpful for me even though I came from a fairly stroke-heavy residency program. For a lot of tele companies they either require a stroke/critical care fellowship or 5-10 years post-residency experience.

Many companies offer financial incentives to take calls when off shifts, so I do quite of bit of those (which can be quite lucrative).

 

[Drhappyface]

I did a stroke felllowship....I think it was helpful for me even though I came from a fairly stroke-heavy residency program. For a lot of tele companies they either require a stroke/critical care fellowship or 5-10 years post-residency experience.

Many companies offer financial incentives to take calls when off shifts, so I do quite of bit of those (which can be quite lucrative).

Thanks for the replies

I'm also in a stroke heavy residency and feel pretty comfortable with strokes. Thought of doing a vascular fellowship but don't know if it'll be worth it. Don't really see a financial incentive to do one (although vascular has about a 70-80k increases compared to regular neuro. Not really sure how that would work considering telestroke would pay each neurologist the same regardless of fellowship)

 

[MC47]

I have talked to few companies including larger one to include Tele specialist and SOC tele. Which one is overall a better deal if anyone can share their experiences?