Role of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across the Interdisciplinary Cancer Care Team

Web Exclusives

The pandemic has precipitated a dramatic shift in healthcare delivery, and many oncology practices are more widely adopting the telehealth model for routine visits and prechemotherapy assessments. This is particularly important for immunocompromised patients who are at greater risk for infections, as telehealth has reduced COVID-19 exposure significantly.

Clinicians can carefully update each patient’s medical history and conduct physical examinations virtually using these video-assisted platforms to support the ongoing assessment of cancer symptoms and medication-induced toxicity.

Many benefits have been conferred to the patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Specifically, telehealth has improved timely access to services including palliative care, as well as reduced travel time and potential clinical exposure. While education and training are initially required, once a telehealth platform is integrated into a clinical practice, interventions and modifications in treatment plans can be seamlessly executed.

The shift to a telehealth paradigm has broad implications for nursing practice. In the future, significant challenges will be raised by major public health disasters and having contingency plans in place is a necessary aspect of emergency preparedness. This is especially critical for oncology nurses who play a key role in managing a wide range of aspects of patient care across domains, departments, and healthcare settings. Within the context of an interdisciplinary team, oncology nurses play a central leadership role, often serving as the hub.

While telehealth has been quickly adopted based on the evolving needs induced by the pandemic crisis, by adopting these tactics in the future, distribution of healthcare services and clinical trials may benefit from increased efficiency and broadened reach to underserved patient populations. This may be a lasting solution that enables expanded home-based treatment.

Source

Paterson C, Bacon R, Dwyer R, et al. The role of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic across the interdisciplinary cancer team: implications for practice. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2020;36:151090.

Related Items


Subscribe Today!

To sign up for our newsletter or print publications, please enter your contact information below.

I'd like to receive: