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Bilbrey LE, Frailley SA, Poole SL, Crouse C, Trader A, Blakely LJ, Frailley L, Dickson NR. Utilization of telemedicine to meet the demand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at a community oncology practice. J Clin Oncol 2020. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2020.38.29_suppl.263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
263 Background: A large community oncology practice in Tennessee participates in value-based payment arrangements, the success of which depends on close patient monitoring. Telemedicine as an innovative solution was initiated in 2017. The service was limited, due to regulation, licensure requirements, and lack of reimbursement, to survivorship visits, clinical trial consent visits, rural hospital consults and genetic counseling. During the COVID pandemic and loosening of restrictions, telemedicine services were expanded. Methods: We identified a cloud-based platform that allowed patients to use any device with a camera and microphone and required no software downloads. On-line training sessions were provided to clinical staff. All training and workflow implementation were completed in a 2-week time frame. Telemedicine was expanded to include surveillance, urgent care, psychology, palliative care and post-BMT visits as well as new patient consults for medical, radiation and gynecologic oncology patients. Patient satisfaction surveys were administered. Results: Our telemedicine visits increased weekly beginning March 1, peaking in the month of April with an average of 77 scheduled telemedicine visits per day across the practice. During the month of April, our practice saw a record clinical trial accrual in our Phase-1 Drug Development Unit with a 22% increase over the previous average. Patients who responded to a satisfaction survey were highly satisfied with the telemedicine visit with a 73% positive response rate. Nearly half of our eligible patients did not have the technology or broad-band access to be able to participate in telemedicine. Conclusions: Our prior experience with telemedicine, though limited, facilitated the development of an infrastructure that provided adequate number of devices and internet bandwidth capacity to support rapid expansion of telemedicine. We were able to maintain high quality care and access to clinical trials during the pandemic and see the value of this service long-term. We hope to add tele-pharmacy and care coordination services. Political leadership and patient advocacy groups should explore ways to ensure that all patients may benefit from this technology, especially those in under-served areas.
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