Background The emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020 created unprecedented challenges in the provision of scheduled ambulatory cancer care. As a result, there has been a renewed focus on video-based telehealth consultations as a means to continue ambulatory care. Objective The aim of this study is to analyze the change in video visit volume at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center in response to COVID-19 and compare patient demographics and appointment data from January 1, 2020, and in the 11 weeks after the transition to video visits. Methods Patient demographics and appointment data (dates, visit types, and departments) were extracted from the electronic health record reporting database. Video visits were performed using a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-compliant video conferencing platform with a pre-existing workflow. Results In 17 departments and divisions at the UCSF Cancer Center, 2284 video visits were performed in the 11 weeks before COVID-19 changes were implemented (mean 208, SD 75 per week) and 12,946 video visits were performed in the 11-week post–COVID-19 period (mean 1177, SD 120 per week). The proportion of video visits increased from 7%-18% to 54%-72%, between the pre– and post–COVID-19 periods without any disparity based on race/ethnicity, primary language, or payor. Conclusions In a remarkably brief period of time, we rapidly scaled the utilization of telehealth in response to COVID-19 and maintained access to complex oncologic care at a time of social distancing.

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Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 in March 2020 created unprecedented challenges in the provision of scheduled ambulatory cancer care. As a result, there has been a renewed focus on video consultations as a means to continue ambulatory care.Objective: To characterize the increase in video visits at the University of California, San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center in response to COVID-19 and compare demographics/appointment data from January 1, 2020 and in the 3 weeks after transition to video visits. Methods: Demographics and appointment data (dates, visit types, and departments)were abstracted from the Electronic Health Record reporting database. Video visits were performed using a HIPAA-compliant video conferencing platform with a preexisting workflow. Results:In 17 departments and divisions at the Cancer Center, 2,284 video visits were performed in the pre-COVID-19 period (average 208 ± 75 per week) and 3,015 performed in the 3-week post-COVID-19 period (average 1,005 ± 149 per week). The proportion of video visits increased from 7-18% to 54-68%, between the pre-and post-COVID-19 periods without any disparity based on race/ethnicity, primary language, or insurance Conclusions: In a remarkably brief period of time, we rapidly scaled the utilization of telehealth in response to COVID-19 and maintained access to complex oncologic care at a time of social distancing. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.(which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

This pilot study suggests that telemedicine is a viable model for inpatient consultation-liaison psychiatry services to hospitals without on-site psychiatry resources and represents a viable alternative model of service delivery.

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