Learning from Crisis: a Multicentre Study of Oncology Telemedicine Clinics Introduced During COVID-19.
J Cancer Educ
; 37(6): 1861-1869, 2022 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34213751
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated adaptation of cancer patient care. Oncology patients who contract COVID-19 have poor outcomes. Telemedicine clinics (teleclinics) have been introduced for cancer patients to reduce the risk of horizontal transmission at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and The Royal Free Hospital in London. Teleclinics have become routine in many specialities; however, inclusion in oncology care was not standard prior to the pandemic. A mixed-methods survey was designed and delivered to cancer patients (n = 106) at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and The Royal Free Hospital who had transitioned to teleclinics in March 2020. The survey explored patients' perceptions of this format. In total, 96 (90.5%) patients consented to take part, across a range of tumour types. Overall, respondents reacted favourably to the format of the teleclinics, with 90.6% of respondents (87/96) stating they would utilise teleclinics beyond the pandemic. Additionally, a survey was distributed to clinicians delivering these teleclinics (n = 16) to explore previous training in, perceptions of, and lessons learned from the introduction of telemedicine. Results suggest patients are accepting of teleclinic use for most clinical purposes. Teleclinic implementation affords benefits to cancer patient care both during and after COVID-19, but there is an urgent need for telemedicine education in oncology specialty training.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Telemedicine
/
COVID-19
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Cancer Educ
Journal subject:
EDUCACAO
/
NEOPLASIAS
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom