Telehealth in cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Victorian COVID-19 Cancer Network (VCCN) Telehealth Expert Working Group aimed to evaluate the telehealth (TH) experience for cancer patients, carers and clinicians with the rapid uptake of TH in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We conducted a prospective multi-centre cross-sectional survey involving eight Victorian regional and metropolitan cancer services and three consumer advocacy groups. Patients or their carers and clinicians who had TH consultations between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2020 were invited to participate in patient and clinician surveys, respectively. These surveys were opened from September to December 2020.

The acceptability of TH via both video (82.9%) and phone (70.4%) were high though acceptability appeared to decrease in older phone TH users. Video was associated with higher satisfaction compared to phone (87.1% vs 79.7%) even though phone was more commonly used. Various themes from the qualitative surveys highlighted barriers and enablers to rapid TH implementation.

The high TH acceptability supports this as a safe and effective strategy for continued care and should persist beyond the pandemic environment, where patient preferences are considered and clinically appropriate. Ongoing support to health services for infrastructure and resources, as well as expansion of reimbursement eligibility criteria for patients and health professionals, including allied health and nursing, are crucial for sustainability.