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BACKGROUND: There has been limited study of oncology professionals' perspectives on optimizing delivery of presurgical education for individuals with head and neck cancer (HNC). Therefore, we assessed oncology professionals' perspectives about presurgical education for laryngectomy and free flap surgeries, which have a significant impact on patients' quality of life. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 27 oncology professionals from an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a community oncology setting. RESULTS: Participants identified six recommendations to improve presurgical education: (1) establishing preoperative consultations with allied health professionals; (2) educating patients and providers on the concept of team-based care; (3) optimizing education through multimodal strategies; (4) connecting patients with other HNC surgical patients; (5) preparing caregivers for their role; and (6) educating patients on insurance navigation. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings demonstrate gaps in the timing, content, and mode of delivery for presurgical education and suggest strategies for further evaluation in future studies.
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INTRODUCTION: Although the COVID-19 pandemic spurred telehealth adoption for many specialties and care team roles, the patient and caregiver experience for telepharmacy visits has been relatively understudied. To our knowledge, there is a paucity of studies that have attempted to qualitatively evaluate this. This study aimed to qualitatively assess the patient and caregiver experience of telepharmacy visits in a cancer center. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 patients with cancer and seven caregivers that had attended a telepharmacy visit between December 1, 2021, and May 24, 2022. The interviews assessed visit content, overall satisfaction, system experience, visit quality, and future preferences for pharmacy visits as telehealth versus in-person. We used both deductive and inductive coding to identify themes. RESULTS: Telepharmacy delivery was generally well-received. Reasons for having the telepharmacy visit included reviewing chemotherapy procedures, side effects to expect during treatment, providing education on recently prescribed medications, offering dietary recommendations (e.g., avoiding grapefruit juice), and performing medication reconciliation. Participants were receptive to having pharmacy visits through telehealth due to the perceived lack of a need to have a physical exam and prior relationship with the pharmacist. Participants also highlighted the main reason for the telepharmacy visits was primarily to provide patient education, which participants felt was suitable for telehealth. CONCLUSIONS: The patient and caregiver experience of telepharmacy is influenced by several factors, such as ease of connectivity, communicating effectively with the pharmacist, and timing of the telepharmacy visit (e.g., immediately after picking up medications from the pharmacy). Participants' recommendations to improve telepharmacy delivery included health systems raising awareness of telepharmacy services and providing a list of questions to patients to guide discussions.