Telehealth in radiation oncology at the Townsville Cancer Centre: Service evaluation and patient satisfaction

Hamilton, Elizabeth; Veldhuizen, Ellie Van; Brown, Amy; Brennan, Sean; Sabesan, Sabe

doi:10.1016/j.ctro.2018.11.005

Cited by 52 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Telemedicine consultations were viewed favorably due to their broad applicability, the reduced time and costs needed for follow-up, and increased convenience for patients with long travel distances. 16 , 17 However, these experiences included radiation oncology consultations for truly rural areas, with one survey being performed among patients a mean distance of 403 km from the hospital. 17 It is unclear how these experiences would translate to a broader application, as travel time and costs may be of lower priority for patients.…”

Section: Telemedicine—healing At a Distancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…16 , 17 However, these experiences included radiation oncology consultations for truly rural areas, with one survey being performed among patients a mean distance of 403 km from the hospital. 17 It is unclear how these experiences would translate to a broader application, as travel time and costs may be of lower priority for patients. Studies will also need to address clinical outcomes with routine use of telemedicine, which may depend on surveillance frequency, as well as patient self-management and community-based interventions.…”

Section: Telemedicine—healing At a Distancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Telemedicine can be used to preselect patients who may benefit from in-person appointments, particularly in cancers where the role of physical examination for recurrence surveillance is limited. 16 , 17 However, studies will need to assess which patients are suitable for this approach and which patients will continue to benefit from regular in-person follow-up. As ROs, we treat many elderly patients, some of whom may not be familiar with telemedicine technologies or have difficulty using them.…”

Section: More Than a Pat On The Back: In-person Visits In Radiation Omentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

“Connection Failed”: A Word of Caution on Telemedicine in Radiation Oncology

Finazzi

Papachristofilou

Zimmermann

2020

International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics

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Section: Telemedicine—healing At a Distancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Telemedicine—healing At a Distancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: More Than a Pat On The Back: In-person Visits In Radiation Omentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

“Connection Failed”: A Word of Caution on Telemedicine in Radiation Oncology

Finazzi

Papachristofilou

Zimmermann

2020

International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics

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“…Further, continued widespread use of telehealth depends on identifying feasible business models for its use. We must recognize that the rapid adoption of this technology in radiation oncology during COVID-19 has been done with limited data, and we must be careful of unintended consequences [ 12 ]. Currently there are no guidelines for optimal and appropriate use of telehealth in radiation oncology, and no quality metrics have been established.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Telehealth in Radiation Oncology: Rapid Integration During COVID-19 and Its Future Role in Our Practice

Goenka¹,

Ma²,

Teckie³

et al. 2021

Advances in Radiation Oncology

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Introduction The widespread coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in significant changes in care delivery among radiation oncology practices and demanded the rapid incorporation of telehealth. However, the impact of a large-scale transition to telehealth in radiation oncology on patient access to care and the viability of care delivery are largely unknown. In this manuscript, we review our implementation and report data on patient access to care and billing implications. As telehealth is likely to continue after COVID-19, we propose a radiation oncology-specific algorithm for telehealth. Material and Methods In March 2020, our department began to use telehealth for all new consults, post-treatment encounters, and follow-up appointments. Billable encounters from January to April 2020 were reviewed and categorized into one of the following visit types: in-person, telephonic, or two-way audio-video. Logistic regression models tested whether visit type differed by patient age, income, or provider. Results There was a 35% decrease in billable activity from January to April. In-person visits decreased from 100% to 21%. Sixty percent of telehealth appointments in April were performed with two-way audio-video, and 40% by telephonic only. In-person consultation visits were associated with higher billing codes compared to two-way audio-video telehealth visits (p<0.01). No difference was seen for follow-up visits. Univariate and multivariable analysis identified that older patient age was associated with reduced likelihood of two-way audio-video encounters (p<0.01). The physician conducting the telehealth appointment was also associated with the type of visit performed (p<0.01). Patient income was not associated with the type of telehealth visit. Conclusions Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to move the majority of patient visits to telehealth but observed inconsistent utilization of the audio-video telehealth platform. We present guidelines and quality metrics for incorporating telehealth in radiation oncology practice, based on type of encounter and disease subsite.

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“…They may also be faced with more complex decisions about which treating facility to attend, seeking to balance personal, social and logistical factors with perceived quality of accessible care [29]. We know that rural patients generally have longer to travel to a specialist cancer centre (something which has stimulated the development of teleoncology initiatives [30]) and this, or the likely duration of time away from home, may affect the treatment options that these patients have, or the choices they make [31]. Similar factors may affect likelihood of completing a course of radiotherapy or chemotherapy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceptualising Rural Cancer Inequalities: Time for a New Research Agenda

Dobson

Rubin

Murchie

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Evidence has shown for over 20 years that patients residing in rural areas face poorer outcomes for cancer. The inequalities in survival that rural cancer patients face are observed throughout the developed world, yet this issue remains under-examined and unexplained. There is evidence to suggest that rural patients are more likely to be diagnosed as a result of an emergency presentation and that rural patients may take longer to seek help for symptoms. However, research to date has been predominantly epidemiological, providing us with an understanding of what is occurring in these populations, yet failing to explain why. In this paper we outline the problems inherent in current research approaches to rural cancer inequalities, namely how ‘cancer symptoms’ are conceived of and examined, and the propensity towards a reductionist approach to rural environments and populations, which fails to account for their heterogeneity. We advocate for a revised rural cancer inequalities research agenda, built upon in-depth, community-based examinations of rural patients’ experiences across the cancer pathway, which takes into account both the micro and macro factors which exert influence on these experiences, in order to develop meaningful interventions to improve cancer outcomes for rural populations.

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Telehealth in radiation oncology at the Townsville Cancer Centre: Service evaluation and patient satisfaction

Abstract: HighlightsTelehealth serviced a range of ages, cancer diagnoses and treatment intents.Tele-radiation oncology consultations reduced travel and time burden for patients.Patients reported an overall high level of satisfaction with telehealth consultation.

Cited by 52 publications

References 18 publications

“Connection Failed”: A Word of Caution on Telemedicine in Radiation Oncology

“Connection Failed”: A Word of Caution on Telemedicine in Radiation Oncology

Implementation of Telehealth in Radiation Oncology: Rapid Integration During COVID-19 and Its Future Role in Our Practice

Reconceptualising Rural Cancer Inequalities: Time for a New Research Agenda

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