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The fifth in a series of papers on practical aspects of telehealth, this paper discusses telehealth models that can facilitate the provision of specialist services to rural and remote patients closer to home. Some of the barriers ...
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The fifth in a series of papers on practical aspects of telehealth, this paper discusses telehealth models that can facilitate the provision of specialist services to rural and remote patients closer to home. Some of the barriers to successful implementation of these models relates to workforce, funding and infrastructure at rural sites, as well as the traditional mindset of healthcare professionals. Therefore, the rural sector needs to be adequately resourced for telehealth models to be substantive and successful. This paper describes the development of a large teleoncology network over a vast geographical area in North Queensland. Adequate resourcing for the rural sites and undertaking quality improvement activities has continually enhanced the model over a 5- to 6-year period. The benefits of this model of care are twofold: (i) patients received their care closer to home and (ii) the workforce, service capabilities and infrastructure for the hospital in Mt Isa (a rural town 900km away from its tertiary centre) has improved.
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Introduction: Telemedicine use expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but publications analyzing patient perspectives on telemedicine are few. We aimed to study whether patient perspectives offer insights into how best to ...
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Introduction: Telemedicine use expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but publications analyzing patient perspectives on telemedicine are few. We aimed to study whether patient perspectives offer insights into how best to utilize telemedicine in the future for hematology and cancer care.Methods: A modified Telemedicine Satisfaction and Usefulness Questionnaire (TSUQ) was sent to adult hematology/oncology outpatients at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Clinic who had ≥1 prior phone and/or video visit between March 15, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Two focus groups were subsequently conducted with volunteers who completed the survey. We evaluated dichotomized TSUQ items using logistic regression, and focus group data were analyzed qualitatively using constant comparison analysis.Results: Of 7,848 invitations, 588 surveys were completed. Focus groups included 16 survey respondents. Most respondents found telemedicine satisfactory, easy to use, and convenient, with the majority preferring a hybrid approach going forward. Oncology patients, females, and higher income earners endorsed decreased telemedicine satisfaction. Concerns were voiced about fewer in-person interactions, communication gaps, and provider style variability.Discussion: Adult hematology/oncology patients had varied perspectives on telemedicine utilization success based on gender, income, and disease burden, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach, as was implemented nearly universally during the COVID-19 pandemic, is not an ideal approach for the long term. Given that telemedicine use is likely to remain in some form in most centers, our findings suggest that a nuanced and tailored approach for some patient subgroups and using feedback from patients will make implementation more effective.
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Background and objectives: Teleoncology can be used to reduce the limitations due to the lack of access to specialists, inadequate resources and training, and reducing unnecessary travels and arising of the costs. The purpose of t...
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Background and objectives: Teleoncology can be used to reduce the limitations due to the lack of access to specialists, inadequate resources and training, and reducing unnecessary travels and arising of the costs. The purpose of this study was to review the literatures to identify and classify the areas of application and outcomes of using teleoncology in diagnosis, management, and treatment of children with cancer. Methods: This scoping review of the published literatures was conducted by searching the Web of Science, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases in October 2019. Studies investigated telemedicine in diagnosis, management, and treatment of cancer in children were also included. We identified and classified different applications and the reported outcomes of this technology.
Results: In this study, 1834 articles were retrieved, and after removing the unrelated and duplicated articles, 20 articles were reviewed ultimately. We found that, teleoncology services were provided to the patients with cancer, their parents, and nurses in various clinical fields such as telepathology, telemental care (tele-psychology), teleneurology, teledermatology, telehematology, and teleophthalmology. The findings also showed that, the outcomes of using telemedicine in children with cancer can be classified into six general categories (five primary and 14 secondary outcomes). Primary outcomes including diagnosis accuracy, reduced costs as well as mortality and secondary outcomes consist of improved relationship and training, better care management, satisfaction, and workload.
Conclusion: The use of telemedicine for children with cancer is growing, and there is a tendency for using this technology for families and clinical staff. Providing teleoncology services to children with cancer may improve diagnosis accuracy and reduce the cost and mortality rate. Also, better care management, appropriate relationships and training, increased satisfaction, and decreased workload may be achieved.
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Background Despite the growing incidence of cancer worldwide, there are an insufficient number of primary care physicians, community oncologists, and surgeons to meet the demand for cancer care, especially in rural and other medic...
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Background Despite the growing incidence of cancer worldwide, there are an insufficient number of primary care physicians, community oncologists, and surgeons to meet the demand for cancer care, especially in rural and other medically underserved areas. Teleoncology, including diagnostics, treatment, and supportive care, has the potential to enhance access to cancer care and to improve clinician education and training. Objectives Major cancer centers such as The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center must determine how teleoncology will be used as part of strategic planning for the future. The Telemedicine and Telesurgery in Cancer Care (TTCC) conference was convened to determine technologically based strategies for addressing global access to essential cancer care services. Results The TTCC conference brought policy makers together with physicians, legal and regulatory experts to define strategies to optimize available resources, including teleoncology, to advance global cancer care. Conclusions The TTCC conference discourse provided insight into the present state of access to care, expertise, training, technology and other interventions, including teleoncology, currently available through MD Anderson, as well as a vision of what might be achievable in the future, and proposals for moving forward with a comprehensive strategy.
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Background: Tumor board (TB) conferences facilitate multidisciplinary cancer care and are associated with overall improved outcomes. Because of shortages of the oncology workforce and limited access to TB conferences, multidiscipl...
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Background: Tumor board (TB) conferences facilitate multidisciplinary cancer care and are associated with overall improved outcomes. Because of shortages of the oncology workforce and limited access to TB conferences, multidisciplinary care is not available at every institution. This pilot study assessed the feasibility and acceptance of using telemedicine to implement a virtual TB (VTB) program within a regional healthcare network. Materials and Methods: The VTB program was implemented through videoconference technology and electronic medical records between the Houston (TX) Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) (referral center) and the New Orleans (LA) VAMC (referring center). Feasibility was assessed as the proportion of completed VTB encounters, rate of technological failures/mishaps, and presentation duration. Validated surveys for confidence and satisfaction were administered to 36 TB participants to assess acceptance (1-5 point Likert scale). Secondary outcomes included preliminary data on VTB utilization and its effectiveness in providing access to quality cancer care within the region. Results: Ninety TB case presentations occurred during the study period, of which 14 (15%) were VTB cases. Although one VTB encounter had a technical mishap during presentation, all scheduled encounters were completed (100% completion rate). Case presentations took longer for VTB than for regular TB cases (p=0.0004). However, VTB was highly accepted with mean scores for satisfaction and confidence of 4.6. Utilization rate of VTB was 75%, and its effectiveness was equivalent to that observed for non-VTB cases. Conclusions: Implementation of VTB is feasible and highly accepted by its participants. Future studies should focus on widespread implementation and validating the effectiveness of this model.
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The first in a series of articles that demonstrate the practical aspects of telehealth, this paper provides three case studies that examine the suitability of telehealth for patients living in rural and remote areas who require on...
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The first in a series of articles that demonstrate the practical aspects of telehealth, this paper provides three case studies that examine the suitability of telehealth for patients living in rural and remote areas who require ongoing specialist care.
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Background: Since 2007, Townsville Cancer Centre (Queensland, Australia) has provided routine and urgent medical oncology services to rural and remote communities through videoconferencing. At remote sites, patients were accompani...
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Background: Since 2007, Townsville Cancer Centre (Queensland, Australia) has provided routine and urgent medical oncology services to rural and remote communities through videoconferencing. At remote sites, patients were accompanied by doctors and other health workers. The aim of this study was to describe satisfaction of patients and rural health workers with this model of teleoncology. Methods: Between May 2007 and June 2010, 55 videoconferencing patients were invited to participate in a questionnaire-based telephone survey after informed consent. The survey included responses to 16 satisfaction statements using a 5-point Likert scale. Perspectives of health workers involved were recorded using open-ended questions on six themes related to telehealth. Results: Among the 50 participating cancer patients, median age was 56 years (range 28-83). Seventy-six per cent of patients thought specialist physical examination was important despite local doctors performing it. Seventy-six per cent of patients felt the presence of accompanying local health workers was not important. Seventy-eight per cent of patients preferred to be seen in Mt Isa for the first consultation through videoconferencing than travelling to Townsville. More than 80% of patients were in agreement with the rest of the satisfaction statements. Ninety-six per cent of patients were in agreement with the question relating to overall satisfaction. Eighteen health workers participated and their responses and attitudes were favourable towards telehealth. Conclusion: Satisfaction with this model of care was proven to be high among both patients and health workers. Benefits perceived included effective communication between patients and specialists, reduced travel time and money expenditure, and superior specialist support for rural health workers.
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For patients who have difficulty traveling to a clinic or doctor's office because of living in a remote location or lack of transportation, increasing opportunities exist to access health care remotely. Telemedicine is a growing f...
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For patients who have difficulty traveling to a clinic or doctor's office because of living in a remote location or lack of transportation, increasing opportunities exist to access health care remotely. Telemedicine is a growing field that has potential benefits for patients, providers, and the healthcare system.
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Since the initial development of telegraphy by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1837 and the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, doctors have been able to convey medical information across great distances. The exchange and sharin...
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Since the initial development of telegraphy by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1837 and the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, doctors have been able to convey medical information across great distances. The exchange and sharing of medical information has evolved and adapted to suit the vast array of today's medicine. Early adopters of telemedicine within clinical practice have gained significant health economic benefits. The arrival of wireless connections has further enhanced the possibilities for all clinical work with focus on diagnosis, treatment and management of urological cancers, as highlighted in this article.
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Introduction: This multisite, randomized controlled trial assigned 75 adult cancer patients prescribed an oral anticancer agent to either an experimental group that received daily text messages for adherence for 21 days plus usual...
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Introduction: This multisite, randomized controlled trial assigned 75 adult cancer patients prescribed an oral anticancer agent to either an experimental group that received daily text messages for adherence for 21 days plus usual care or a control group that received usual care. Materials and Methods: Measures were administered at baseline, weekly (Weeks 1-8), and at exit (Week 9). A satisfaction survey was conducted following the intervention. Acceptability, feasibility, and satisfaction were examined. Primary outcomes were adherence and symptoms. Secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, cognition, physical function, and social support. Mixed or general linear models were used for the analyses comparing trial groups. Effect sizes (ES) were estimated to gauge clinical significance. Results: Regarding acceptability, 57.2% (83 of 145) of eligible patients consented, 88% (n = 37 of 42) receiving text messages read them most or all of the time, and 90% (n = 38) were satisfied. The differences between experimental and control groups' ES were 0.29 for adherence, 0.21 for symptom severity, and 0.21 for symptom interference, and differences were not statistically significant. Furthermore, perceived social support was higher (p = 0.04; ES = 0.54) in the experimental group. Conclusions: Proof of concept and preliminary efficacy of a mobile health intervention using text messages to promote adherence for patients prescribed oral anticancer agents were demonstrated. Patients accepted and had high satisfaction with the intervention, and adherence improved after the intervention. Text messages show promise. Additional research is needed prior to use in practice.
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