. 2013 Jul 9;185(10):E483–E491. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.121418

Table 1:

Components of the Ontario Stroke System

Component	Description
Ontario Stroke Network	Provides central coordination and evaluation of the Ontario Stroke System (www.ontariostrokenetwork.ca)
9 regional stroke centres and 2 enhanced district stroke centres	Responsible for organizing resources, patient care and education across a region. Have clinicians with expertise in stroke care as well as neurosurgical and interventional radiology facilities
16 district stroke centres	Have clinicians with expertise in stroke care as well as the capacity to provide thrombolytic therapy and neuroimaging
24 secondary stroke prevention clinics	Provide regional stroke prevention care
Regional transfer and repatriation agreements	Formalized agreements between organizations to allow patients with stroke to be transferred between institutions if needed
Emergency medical services bypass protocols	Agreements with emergency medical services that allow ambulances to bypass the nearest hospital to take patients with suspected stroke to a regional stroke centre
Stroke best practices recommendations²⁰	Evidence-based stroke care recommendations and practice guidelines (www.strokebestpractices.ca)
Telestroke program²²	Allows communication of patient clinical and neuroimaging data to a stroke specialist; facilitates use of thrombolytic therapy at remote centres
Public awareness campaigns	Television advertising campaign about the warning signs of stroke
Regional stroke education programs	Stroke education programs for providers, patients and caregivers
Province-wide audit and feedback of stroke care delivery¹⁵^,²³	Ongoing data collection on processes of stroke care through the Ontario Stroke Registry (formerly the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network), with annual region-specific report cards (www.rcsn.org)