Cancer Patients May Prefer Virtual Consultations to Face-to-Face Visits

A new study showed that telehealth (online consultations), compared with face-to-face visits for cancer treatment, was consistently more effective for access to care, doctors' responses and patient experience. The study, by Patel and colleagues, was published in JNCCN–National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The Technology Is Ready – But What Do Patients Prefer?

The pandemic required valuable healthcare resources to be reviewed and reorganised. During this difficult period, healthcare professionals treating cancer patients had to adopt innovative strategies to provide timely, high-quality care. The effectiveness and efficiency of telehealth became more apparent during and after the pandemic. However, understanding patients' views and preferences regarding remote healthcare remained essential. This is where the patient-experience surveys used in this study come in: they offer a more detailed understanding of patients' thoughts about telehealth services.

Study Details

The research examined survey responses from 39,268 patients who experienced telehealth and face-to-face consultations during and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The responses came from more than 50,000 visits between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2021.

• Most surveyed patients, 33 thousand people, preferred face-to-face consultations, while 6 thousand had experienced telehealth consultations.
• For access to care, 75.8% of telehealth consultations provided high satisfaction, compared with the slightly lower rate of 62.5% for face-to-face visits.
• The study also examined patients' responses to their healthcare providers and their satisfaction with the attention received: high satisfaction was reported for 90.7% of telehealth consultations and 84.2% of face-to-face consultations.

Results

Telehealth may reduce the burden on patients' work schedules and give them greater flexibility. Appointments can be arranged before or after work or during breaks, expanding access to healthcare.

As healthcare providers, we should act in our patients' interests and advocate for insurance coverage and reimbursement for telehealth consultations.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many healthcare organisations to move to telemedicine. This large retrospective study shows that telehealth consultations can deliver patient experiences equal to or better than face-to-face visits. Future oncology practices need to consider which patients can benefit from telehealth.

The researchers hope to highlight advantages of telehealth over face-to-face visits, including reduced travel, parking and accommodation costs. However, they do not argue that every oncology appointment should be virtual. Patients who need to attend in person for tests or other treatments must be identified correctly.