Telehealth in cancer care: during and beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic has precipitated the rapid uptake of telehealth in cancer care and in other fields. Many of the changes made in routine clinical practice could be embedded beyond the duration of the pandemic. This is intended as a practical guide to cancer clinicians and others in establishing and improving the quality of consultations performed by telehealth.

Impact of COVID-19 on cancer service delivery: a follow-up international survey of oncology clinicians

“…8 The increased use of telehealth throughout the pandemic period has been fundamental in enabling ongoing delivery of cancer care throughout the pandemic. 9,10 The many benefits of telehealth have been widely cited and infrastructure to continue using telehealth as a major consultation modality is being implemented in many centers. Some clinicians (23% in this survey) have expressed concerns about how the increased use of telehealth may negatively impact patient outcomes.…”

“…These issues have also been described elsewhere and include the potential for impaired communication, difficulty building rapport, and the inability to physically examine patients. 10 Despite these potential issues, groups such as Sabesan et al have reported similar outcomes in patients from regional and remote Australia managed using telehealth and a structured remote chemotherapy service, compared to those managed face-to-face. 11 It important that potential challenges are explored with clinicians at their J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f healthcare services and that solutions are instigated, such as formal education programs on how to conduct effective telehealth appointments, pathways for alternating face to face/telehealth reviews and utilising the patients' local health care provider to assist with patient examination.…”

“…11 It important that potential challenges are explored with clinicians at their J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f healthcare services and that solutions are instigated, such as formal education programs on how to conduct effective telehealth appointments, pathways for alternating face to face/telehealth reviews and utilising the patients' local health care provider to assist with patient examination. 10,11 Additionally, clinicians should remain involved in the process of selecting clinical scenarios where telehealth should and should not be utilised, rather than this being driven by hospital administration. The variation in telehealth utilisation and in particular videoconference across regions may also reflect differences in time available for patient consultations in difference regions, impacted differently by COVID-19, differences in widely available technology, cultural differences or differences in billing structure.…”

“…These issues have also been described elsewhere and include the potential for impaired communication, difficulty building rapport and the inability to physically examine patients. 10 Despite these potential issues, groups such as Sabesan et al. have reported similar outcomes in patients from regional and remote Australia managed using telehealth and a structured remote chemotherapy service, compared to those managed face to face.…”

Supporting breast cancer survivors via text messages: reach, acceptability, and utility of EMPOWER-SMS

“…However, the participants' age range was broad (36-67 years) and only one participant reported being unable to attend due to Internet instability (age 52 years). Since COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of many in-person oncology appointments, telehealth and videoconference appointments have been becoming more common and acceptable among breast cancer patients [45] due to their convenience and eliminating travel time. Our study demonstrates that videoconference focus groups are possible.…”